My Weekend Away

I said last week that I was going to write up about my weekend away. It was fantastic! As much as I love my husband and little girl, I really really REALLY enjoyed having a weekend away.

I went with my parents and sister-in-law (who left her kids home with my brother) up to my cousin's lake house. My cousin and his family were not there, so it was just the four of us. The house is beautiful, comfortable and relaxing, set on the hillside across the road from the lake, surrounded by trees through which you can see the blue lake. It's a great vacation location, and only a 3 hour drive from my house.

My parents picked me up after work on Friday. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be to leave the baby and hubby. I had barely seen either of them all day, and weekends are when I spend the most quality time with both of them. But my parent's arrived, and I went. It was hard, but not impossible.

We got up to the house probably around 10:30 or 11:00. This is normally past my bedtime, but I got to nap in the car on the ride up. Plus? I was on vacation and could SLEEP IN the next morning. So I stayed up chatting and drinking vodka tonics. In fact, my dad and I stayed up until maybe 1:00 or so talking and drinking! I was feeling wild and crazy!

The next day, I slept in until maybe 9! I did wake up in the middle of the night, but it wasn't to get a baby or anything like that. I think I woke up mainly because I have been so used to having to wake up to check the monitor or get the baby or something. This time, I just went back to sleep, without a care in the world.

When I got up, I sat around and chatted with my SIL about kids and husbands and life. She's awesome and we get along really well, so it was fun to have a lazy morning with her. My mom and dad went out on the boat. I will admit that I did have to get some work done, which I finished up right after lunch. And then I went out on the boat.

My parents got the speed boat when I was pregnant with the Pumpkin, and I didn't go on it then. The last time I went up to the lake house with my parents, I brought the Pumpkin. So when I went on the boat, my mom watched her. But I was worried the whole time. I didn't want to spend long out, because my mom watched her every day at that time, and I wanted her to have fun and enjoy her weekend. I had Responsibilities hanging over my head the whole time.

This time, I could go out on the boat for however long I wanted. There was no one waiting for me to get back and take care of them or entertain them or even check in with them. Do you understand what that was like? It was incredible!

Saturday night, we all went out to to a nice dinner and a movie. At dinner, I was able to fully participate in conversations, and I only had to worry about feeding myself. There was no one to order food for, keep plates and utensils away from, make sure she ate, or bounce and walk around the restaurant to keep entertained. Nor was there any rush to get back to relieve a babysitter or family member. We had plenty of time before the movie, and I even ordered a delicious dessert. The movie, Get Smart, was fun and funny. And the whole night was such a pleasant night.

The next day, I slept in again (wooo hooo!), went out on the boat and helped clean up the place before we left. There was no worrying about timing of things, like leaving around nap time or making sure that I'd have time to feed the child before we went. We spent most of the day there at the house. I just wanted to be back home in time to nurse the baby to bed, and that wasn't a problem.

All in all, I highly recommend a weekend away to rejuvenate youself. When I got back, I had so much more patience for everyone and everything. Well, for everything but the house. Oh, and work. Hmmm, well at least I had a break from everything and felt better for a little while.