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| The rain didn't stop Quinn and Daddy from having fun either. |
For the third time in Quinn’s short life, I spent the night
away from him last weekend. The first time, I went to Boston for a friend’s wedding when Q was just six months old.
I was gone less than 48 hours door-to-door, yet it felt like an eternity.
Exactly one year later, I went back to Boston for a blogging conference, but that trip was four nights away from Q.
This last trip was another short one, and I didn’t go nearly
as far. This weekend was a much needed Mommies’ Weekend Away. Yep, Mommies.
Plural. Three of my friends
and I left our babies with our men and headed over to Santa Cruz for some girl
time.
Santa Cruz is a fun little beach town not far from where we
live. We couldn’t have picked a worse weekend weather-wise to go to coast, but
we didn’t let a little thing like a torrential downpour keep us from having a
good time.
Our hotel rooms were conveniently located right next to each
other, so we decided to have a Girls’ Night In on our first night. After
dinner, we got into our comfy clothes, piled into one girl’s room, opened some
wine and talked and laughed until the wee hours of the morning. It was kind of like
a grown-up slumber party. All that was missing was some nail polish and cute
boy to prank call.
The next day, we slept in. Ahhhh… I didn’t get up until 8:30
(yes, that’s sleeping in for moms of tots) without worrying about changing a diaper
or getting anyone else dressed or fed. We went out for a very late breakfast at
this awesome café, and then we went to the spa for some massages and much
needed pampering.
Our hotel was walking distance to downtown, so on the second
night we left the car in the lot, armed ourselves with umbrellas and raincoats,
and hit the town. We ate amazing food, went out for drinks and meandered into a
few shops along the way without worrying about the usual bedtime routines at
home.
On Sunday morning, the storm returned with a vengeance. At
one point, I was standing outside under an awning talking to Hubs on the phone,
when part of a tree fell at the park next to the hotel. The 30 mph winds
snapped off the top of the large tree, and I could hear the massive branch crash
on the ground even over the roaring wind and rain. I decided it was time to go
back inside.
Luckily, the storm passed right around check-out time. So we
loaded up the car and went back downtown for another very late breakfast and
some shopping before we all turned into pumpkins and had to get home to our
hubbies and little ones. (A girls’ weekend just wouldn’t be complete without a
little shoe shopping.)
This weekend was exactly what we needed to recharge. I feel so blessed to have these amazing women in my life and call them friends.
The weight of a mom’s responsibility can feel crushing at
times, so it was nice to have it completely lifted for a little while. Just like
at the gym, you have to put the weights down and rest between sets to rebuild
your strength, and that’s not easy for a lot moms. Certainly not for my friends
and me.
I missed Quinn and Hubs very much, and it was actually a
little harder being away from them than I thought it would be, but I realized
that taking breaks like that make me a better mom and wife. I came back a
little stronger on Sunday. Good thing, too, because Hubs has a ton business
travel coming up, so it’s going to be just me and the Q-man for quite a while.
I think another Girls’ Night In might be in order after the
babies go to bed.
