1 Mother 2 Another

Brian and I were supposed to go away
Saturday night as a sort of anniversary celebration/hide-from-Sept
11 sort of thing. But with the credible threat going on in NYC and
all the tenth anniversary footage I couldn’t seem to get away
from, I found myself short of breath as I contemplated leaving my
mom and girls home by themselves on Sunday.


So we changed our plans.

Brian and I ended up going to a hotel
Friday night by ourselves and having part of Saturday to laze
around and shop, with the girls and my mom joining us Saturday
afternoon for the rest of the weekend. We stayed in a suite hotel,
with Mom and the girls in one suite and Brian and I in another. The
girls absolutely adored the last-minute vacation, Brian and I had
some alone time, and we were together as a family on Sunday.


It was all kinds of goodness.


When Brian and I left the house Friday evening the girls gave us a
half-hearted good-bye: they were too busy discussing what to pack
to really pay us any attention. And when they pulled up Saturday
afternoon and hopped out of the mini-van like little starlets my
heart did a little flip-flop: both girls were pulling their large
rolling backpacks – their official “travel”
luggage – and had their favorite stuffed animals attached to
the bags. Both girls were in semi-dressy skirts and looking about
in awe. The hotel boasted a pair of real swans in the downstairs
atrium, and as Maddie took in the magnificent creatures floating by
she said, “I feel like a princess right now!”


We swam in the pool. We ordered room service and watched movies on
the big-screen t.v. We ate popcorn and M&Ms. We fed the swans
on Sunday, strolled around the “fancy” mall, lazed
around on the patio furniture at our local Starbucks, and had an
all-around great time.


Most importantly, we were all together and my stress level was
exponentially lower.


We’re back in the real world now, with no room service and
lots of chores looming up ahead. But I’m back, recharged and
ready to go.


Mostly.