A Good Thing

This is our first night home in 4 nights. We all went on vacation--the kids "vacationed" at Grandma's house, and DH and I went by ourselves to Hermann, Missouri. You might be asking, "What is in Hermann, Missouri??" Nothing, really. Just some super sweet accommodations (here), but really not much else in the middle of February. And that's exactly what we needed.

Every year we try to take two vacations--one that includes our whole family, the other just DH and myself. I've noticed not many married couples really do this, but boy do I ever recommend it! It is our time to reconnect, to remember why we married each other, to be able to talk without constant interruption, without having to fill a sippy cup, change a diaper, answer 1000 questions. To remember that we were a married couple before we were parents.

Have you noticed how parenting is really intense? It never ends, well, at least in a daily kind of way. You can't "check out" at 5pm and come back to work at 8am the next morning. Nope, if you're a parent (ok, a good parent) you're ON DUTY 24-7. And that's exactly why we need a 3-day (or more!) break.

Is it tough to leave them? Oh my, its one of the hardest thing I do every year. But I do it because it is important to us. It is important for Grandma and Grandpa to get to know our kids better. It is important for our kids to see that OUR world does not completely revolve around them.

And when I get home, I am refreshed enough to want to be a better Mom. A better wife. A better person. Would I realize this without our time away? Probably not. We get so caught up in just doing the next thing...or the next 100 things...that I don't take time to just be quiet and think and evaluate. The proof is in the pudding--I can't tell you how many really good ideas have hatched from our times away. Ideas that have stuck and made our family stronger.

So yes, I need this. Even though my stomach hurts when the non-refundable reservations are made. Even though I'm memorizing the baby's features as I'm rocking her to sleep for the last time the night before we leave. Even when I find myself in a state of panic for the first 5 miles after we drop them off. I need this.

Do you need it, too? Are you a parent? Then yes, you need it, too.

(Yes, even you, Denise!) :)