Now that we live far away from pretty much all our family (with the exception of my über awesome BILs and SILs two of whom I’m not even legally related to but I call them that anyway because I’m too lazy to explain) and Maya is older, Josh has become more comfortable with the concept of taking a daddy-daughter trip. Last year they went back to DC to visit his parents. It’s sweet that he wants to spend alone time with her although I think it’s a bit hard on Maya. She and I are pretty close at the moment (it’s because we haven’t hit the teen years yet and she’s not embarrassed to be seen with me) and when they were gone she called me no less than twice a day. Sometimes she would call three or four. It was awesome and cute to hear her little voice on the phone telling me how much she missed me and I genuinely loved those moments.
This year Josh is taking her to France for a week. Just the two of them…for a whole week. Maya is simultaneously excited about going to France but dreading having to deal with Josh’s desires to photograph every cathedral within a 200 mile radius. There will be the promised trip to EuroDisney as well as the stays in fancy chateaus to appease her but really, she knows she going to get driven around France and be forced to take any number of tours at completely boring (as far as she’s concerned) places like Normandy and Mont St. Michel and be forced to eat things like healthy food. For the record, I fully support the torture.
As for me, I will be embarking on what I now call my “Momcation.” Josh keeps asking me if I’m upset about him taking her on a trip by himself. To be honest I’m all for it and yes it’s for purely selfish reasons. You can judge me all you want and, yes, I can hear your internal brooding of “If I were her I’d be pissed” and “What kind of mother is happy to have her kid gone for a week?” Let me tell you something…all mothers would give their left kidney to save their child’s life but they’d also give up their right kidney to have complete silence with no strings attached for a week. They may tell you different to your face, but, deep down, we all love the thought of unadulterated peace and quiet. I will even give up a trip to France if it means I can come home every night and engage in such mindless activities as building the Lego Hogwarts while drinking a glass of wine.
Said Lego Hogwarts. You can't see my wine because I'm drinking it
Josh travels A LOT. So much so that Maya gets confused as to where he is and when he’s coming home. He really doesn’t get to see her all that much so that’s why I think trips like this are important. That also means that all the errand running, meal prep, yard work, etc. falls to me Mon-Thurs pretty much every week. Now, I’ll admit, I suck at accomplishing the majority of those on a daily basis. Frankly, our yard looks a lot like one you would find at an abandoned house most of the time and I hate doing dishes with a passion BUT I also work full-time so cut me some slack, haters! Every morning I wake up, get Maya up, feed her, make sure she gets dressed, make sure she at least looks at a brush, pack her lunch and then get her out the door to her bus hopefully with both shoes on. In the evening it’s picking her up, feeding her, making sure she does her homework, and getting her ready for bed. And I just have one kid! If I had any more I’m pretty sure my brain would devolve into a gelatinous mound of goo and I’d go off on a zombie rampage every night by 10:00. (I’m seriously not cut out for multi children parenting so don’t try to convince me that it’s easier with two).
The thought of not having to do all that for a whole week is insane. Plus I need a do-over from last year because last year my office moved during the week of the daddy-daughter trip so all my evenings were spent mentally and physically recovering from that nightmare. Every time I think about this trip I see myself running blissfully through fields followed by unicorns and fairies while eating packages of Hostess Sno-Balls. In reality, I’ll probably just go home, make ramen noodles, watch 500 hours of Lord of the Rings, and knit myself a complete set of Harry Potter characters. The point is, for one week, I can do that. I can spend a whole Saturday in the yarn aisle at Michael’s if I want. I could spend 12 hours on Pinterest (oh wait, I do that now). Whatever. It’s like Willy Wonka and the Nobody’s At Home Factory and this time we’re gonna see if the elevator can go diagonal AND upside down.
Being a mom is a hard job and it’s not often that you get to clock out. I love being a mother. I love being a wife. Sometimes, though, it’s nice to just be a reclusive dork. I’m sure by day 5 I’ll be lonely but that’s when I’ll hit up my SILs for a spa day or call up my buddy to go to the knife fight karaoke bar we love to go to. And then, I’ll finally get to scoop Maya up in my arms, give her a giant hug, and ask her to tell me all about her trip with daddy. And all will be right in the world.
Absolutely love the “running blissfully through fields followed by unicorns and fairies while eating packages of Hostess Sno-Balls” visual. I get a day here and there of solitude, but I can’t even imagine what I’d do with an entire week. I’m sure I’d waste most of it, but I’d enjoy every second.
I’m still trying to line up my unicorn and fairies but their schedules are pretty tough being that they’re tied up with having to take care of all the little girl dreams and lost teeth. The Hostess Sno-balls WILL happen though. Oh, yes, they will.