I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, as much as I love traveling with my kids and hubby, I love traveling without them. My pre-trip preparation is cut down by 75%, I only have to worry about entertaining myself, feeding myself, I can sleep in as late as I want, I’m not obligated to anyone else’s time schedule and I can be alone with my thoughts for a certain period of time. Traveling with kids is great but traveling without them is awesome too!
Every year my husband and I take separate (but equal) trips with friends – guy’s getaway, girl’s getaway, mommy getaway, daddy getaway…whatever you want to call it. Fact is, we get away. We recharge our batteries and it’s good. Everyone should have that opportunity. When the boys get older, we’ll allow them to do the same. I’m a strong believer in folks having their piece of solitude to maintain their sanity and better appreciate those they see on a daily basis. So, that’s what we do.
The problem is that sometimes when I go away and get a mental break, I temporarily forget that I have responsibilities back home. What does that mean? Well…sometimes, I forget to call and certainly don’t do it on a daily basis. Yes, I’m shaking my head at me too. I have a bad case of one-track mind when I’m on personal vacay. After that initial call to say I’ve arrived and ask how everyone is doing, I zone out on mommy responsibilities. It usually takes me two and a half to three days to remember again, “oh, I should check up on everyone.” And I’m usually reminded by it when I see girlfriends call in to check on their household (although I’ve seen women do it entirely too much to be considered being on a getaway). Those initial couple of days, I don’t let their checking-in guilt me to do my own checking in – not at all. My general philosophy is: I’m away, there’s nothing I can do about it anyway or if it’s an emergency, my husband will contact me.
When my husband goes away, I’m usually the one calling him a day and a half later to remind him, “Hey, we’re here. Don’t you want to know how we’re doing?” But that’s just me being a hater, jealous of the fact that he’s away at the moment and I’m not because when my turn comes, I do the same thing. Lots of men don’t call to check-in and though they may get a little attitude from their spouse, it’s probably more acceptable than when a mom does it. Why that is, I have no clue. But don’t let me get started on equal rights here.
Barring that everyone is healthy and the home front is quiet, how often do you check-in when you travel without your kids?
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