Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Me, me, ME, it was all about MEEEEE.........

Warren & I just returned from a trip to Chicago.  A trip in which 6 things were missing.  Six beautiful, boisterous, wonderful, demanding things were missing from this grand adventure.  After several months of planning and debating and on again off again drama (they kept changing the date of Warren's meetings!)  Warren and I escaped, sans children for six glorious days.  Don't get me wrong, I adore my children.  I seldom leave them.  If you take out Matthew's hospital stays, I never leave them.  We have gone on little mini vacations 3 or 4 times by ourselves and it is just fantastic.  I know that sounds bad - like I am desperate to escape my life.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  When I escape for a few days, I come back recharged, am more patient with the little people in my life, and feel more blessed than I did before I left.  Also, I think about them almost constantly while I am away.  It's so funny!  On Saturday we did something we had never done, despite many visits to Chicago and living there for 2 years.  We went and had lunch on the 95th floor of the Hancock building.  The views were amazing!  I know it's a touristy thing to do, but it was fun.  All I could think about, though, was that next time we are in Chicago as a family, I am bringing the boys (and girl, of course!) to lunch there.  They would go crazy with delight! :)

I can't tell you how rejuvenating it is to spend 6 days doing nothing - or whatever you like.  There was not a thought about whether we should eat at a certain restaurant because we were uncertain if they had highchairs.  There was no haggling about which movies to see.  There was no early morning wake up call (except the ones we requested from the front desk).  There WAS an obscenely expensive dinner at Charlie Trotters (not doing that again......), two movies in a ROW (how long has it been since you saw two movies back to back?), a midnight waffle house run at an all-night diner, 4 novels, and lots of shopping (my favorite thing, not so much for Warren, but he was a great sport).  Today was our first day back and I feel so happy and lucky and well-rested.  The little things that went wrong (lost luggage, almost missed our flight), are much easier to deal with because I had a break.  YAY! :)

7 comments:

Jessie said...

Wow, I can't even imagine such an event! It sounds lovely, you deserved every minute.
Louie and I have a few little places in mind for when we get to the stage when we can escape: Seattle, Prince Edward Island, Vancouver. Not to mention back to Ireland someday!
Ah, dreaming.

Glad you had fun!

Handsfullmom said...

It sounds divine! I'm glad you got a chance to go.

Dina said...

Sounds perfect to me--especially the back to back movies! The last time I did that was when my 1st was a newborn and slept all day. Loved those matinees!

I know exactly what you mean about it being good for everyone!

Tara Bergsjo said...

I am so glad you had a break! You deserve it!!!

Karrianne said...

Yeah for couple vacations! :)

It's been about 10 years since I saw a movie back to back! How fun! Glad you a had a good trip and are back home rejuvenated. With six kids, you absolutely deserve a break every once in awhile. :)

Katie said...

Yeah! You deserve it!

Ben said...

Yay for you! After all you do, a little self-pampering should be allowed! Glad you could escape for a few days.

After being in a hospital for 2 months with Ben, I am hoping to find a way to do the same soon!