Escape

Thanks to much advice here and offline, I have decided I am definitely going to go to Virginia sans baby next weekend. I think the absolute deciding factor was that in a few short months I’m going to have a newborn again and it will probably be at least another year before the chance to escape sleep in presents itself again and without a break I’m afraid the burnout will be fast and painful.

I’m slightly giddy already thinking about how much fun spending time with my two very best girlfriends from high school will be. I might not be quite as much fun as I was at my own bachelorette party (drinking lighter fluid is probably not a wise choice when one is pregnant)(or any other time)(I thought it was just really strong alcohol)(shut up I was 22) but I love these girls dearly and don’t see them nearly enough. And with no baby to put to bed/run home to check on I can stay out until I collapse from pregnancy exhaustion at 10 pm as late as I want. My minivan is going to be quite useful as the DD vehicle too. We shall call it the Swagger Wagon. Maybe I’ll even write it on the side.

Plus, I am really looking forward to what I am sure will be a renewed appreciation from my husband for all I do around here when I get home. Two and a half days isn’t exactly a long time but I’m hoping it’s long enough for him to learn…

– Just how quickly laundry piles up when you don’t do a load for three days.

– What it’s like to be solely responsible for lunch and dinner (although who am I kidding, he’s getting fast food all weekend).

– The terror that is 11:30 am. Too early for a nap, too screamy and miserable for playing.

– The mystery of where all this DAMN PET HAIR comes from.

– Where we keep the paper towels/Tylenol/Swiffer/plastic plates/mini-bagels/eight million other things I feel like he’s always asking for instead of just looking. zOr remembering, since I TOLD HIM YESTERDAY.

– What it’s like to never ever get to use a bathroom alone/with the door closed.

– How difficult it is to just “run out to the store” when you have a child who may or may not be in the mood for “running out” to anywhere.

– How lucky you feel when nap time lasts 3 hours.

– The amazing moment when you actually hope the baby wakes up because you miss him.

– The first two hours of the day when Baby Evan is always happy and fun and the most darling child on the planet.

– Strangers in every kind of public place instantly falling in love with your kid and how proud you feel when he smiles at them or waves bye-bye.

I am also looking forward to missing my kid, in the sense that it will be a nice long break during which maybe I can forget some of the particularly awful moments as of late and just focus on how much I really do love being a mom. To paraphrase, it’s hard to miss it when it WON’T GO AWAY, you know?

(P.S. I feel sort of like I’m talking about this wedding/bridal shower an ENORMOUS AMOUNT considering I’m not the one getting married. But it’s going to be the first real grown-up type event I/we’ve gone to since Baby Evan was born so in my book it’s pretty much the equivalent of being invited to The Oscars.)

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12 Responses to “Escape”

  1. Stephanie says:

    You said “Swagger Wagon” – PLEASE(!!) tell me you’ve seen the Toyota Sienna Family video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql-N3F1FhW4

  2. Yay! Have a blast! I tried explaining 11:30 to my husband and failed. And OF COURSE the babe doesn’t do it when he is home.

  3. ooh! have so much fun! you deserve it!!!

  4. I soooooo feel you on this. After a summer of hockey camps in places that are decidedly not Chicago, come October the SpaceHusband will learn what it feels like to spend a long weekend alone with Calder while I go get hosed in Las Vegas with my BFFs for a 30th birthday party.

    I CANNOT WAIT.

  5. Swistle says:

    I am not the least bit shocked that someone would mistake lighter fluid for alcohol, considering how most alcohol tastes almost exactly like cleaning supplies. But was that, er…DANGEROUS? Like, did you have to go to the hospital? I FEEL LIKE THERE IS MORE TO THIS STORY.

    HAVE FUN on your trip!! Take experimental sips of all beverages before quaffing!

    • bebehblog says:

      My girlfriends took me to Lucky Chang’s in NYC, which is…really impossible to explain, besides to just say they served very very large alcoholic beverages in things like fish bowls or giant flaming volcanoes. So after extinguishing the ACTUAL FIRE in the middle of our tropical drink I said “Hey, do you think that’s grain alcohol or lighter fluid?”, stuck my straw in it and drank.

      I did not die, but probably mostly because the enormous amount of alcohol already in my system could have sterilized just about anything at that point.

      It was a fun night.

  6. Jen F (from Robinson) says:

    This will be a well-deserved break for you!! And a little space always helps you appreciate the good things. Let me know if you’ll have any free time, maybe we can grab a coffee (hold the lighter fluid).

  7. merin says:

    I’m so proud of you Suzanne! We are doing our first O/N away next Friday for our five year anniversary. By “away” I mean my parents are sleeping here with Cora in the guest room/her room and we may or may not be in the next room. But we might stay on their boat if we are feeling bold!

  8. sarrible says:

    Yeah, I think staying away from the lighter fluid, even in amounts as small as what you drank, is a good idea for all of us, pregnant or not.

  9. michgal18 says:

    We (well, me really…) had our first overnight away from The Boy last night. Went to Boston…stayed up til 1:30!! Pretty tired today, couldn’t wait to get back into the car this morning…but it went well! I was absolutely not worried about him, but was afraid I would miss him more than my heart was capable of dealing with. I’ll tell you what though…the time from Exit 80 on 32 to Gardner Lake to pick him up seemed longer than the time from Boston to Norwich! I was sooooo excited to see him again!!!

  10. lalaland13 says:

    Yay for getting away for a bit! Vacations are good for the soul, and there’s a certain liberating effect to going off on your own and meeting friends somewhere. I hope E appreciates you, too. This is one thing about baby-raising that I really struggle with and that may ultimately keep me from having kids: The mom always does more work. Always. Even if the dad is cool like E, it happens that way, either because the couple falls into “traditional” gender patterns or…sorry, getting all Sociology of Marriage and Family Life on you here. But have a big fun time and stay away from the lighter fluid!

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