I’m 10 days away from going on vacation without my kids and I’m not afraid to admit that I don’t feel guilty about it. Sure I will miss them, but I can’t wait to have five days with just my husband. Families are busy with school, work, and play, and there is rarely time to relax and let’s face it, kids are exhausting.
My husband and I haven’t gone on a vacation by ourselves since our honeymoon almost 16 years ago. So just having that time to have an adult conversation without being interrupted every five minutes is going to be fantastic. We don’t have to share the TV or do children’s activities. If we want to stay in all day instead of going sight-seeing or hiking, we can because we don’t have to entertain anyone but ourselves. It’s going to be great!
Although I haven’t practiced it as much as I would like to, I am a big fan of less things and more experiences. So this year we decided to go on a trip instead of buying each other anniversary gifts. Although I am excited about our trip it does feel a little weird to be going without them, which got me thinking. Is it OK to go on vacation without your children? Am I a bad mom for being so excited to have a short parenting break? The answer is no, it’s absolutely OK, and I am not a bad mom. And you aren’t either.
From the moment we become a mom our lives revolve around a tiny human who just takes and takes, and never gives anything back. It’s hard to devote 100 percent of your time to your children and family and not give yourself any time. I think it is only natural we all wish for that small break where we can just be ourselves and not be mom for a minute. It doesn’t have to be as extreme as taking a whole vacation, it can just be hiding in the bathroom for 15 minutes to take a second to breathe, running to the store alone, going on a weekend trip, or in my case, driving eight hours away to a cabin in the woods to hopefully unwind and unplug.
Sometimes I feel like when you are married for so long and you have children you forget what it was like to just be a couple. You and your spouse forget to date each other. I know we are guilty of getting into a routine and we get so caught up in parenting that we forget. I’m thrilled to break out of that routine and just be Leif and Steph for a few days. It’s perfectly acceptable to need and want a parenting break. And that is why I don’t feel bad for not taking my kids along with us.
It may sound cliché to say but life is short, we need to take the time to travel and experience things, and if I don’t nurture my relationship with myself and my husband then I would be doing a disservice to my children. They need a happy mom and dad. They need parents who are refreshed and ready to take on what life throws at them. They need us, and we need this.
Steph Hightree is a hot mess mom who is fueled by stress and too much caffeine. She is a Three Rivers native who talks about the good, the bad, and well, everything else about parenthood.
Any views or opinions expressed in “#MomLife” are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Watershed Voice staff or its board of directors.
