Yesterday Dug and I flew home, sans children, from the cabin. It was weird. We got to watch the inflight movie (He's Just Not That Into You, which we weren't that into, but it gave us a few chuckles), and nap on the plane, and read entire magazines, totally uninterrupted. We didn't have to lug any sleeping kids up the stairs when we got home.
We slept late, and then we lazed around drinking coffee, and then Dug headed into work at his leisure. It's 10:30 and I'm still in my jammies and nobody has asked me for a snack. It's weird. We may go to a movie tonight, one that isn't animated, and eat popcorn for dinner.
Then tomorrow we're going to go to wine country for a few days and eat vegetables and not have to force anyone to eat tiny servings of said vegetables. Weird. We will sit in hot tubs for as long as we like and ride our bikes around and not have to ride really, really slowly so Daisy can keep up.
The kids stayed behind with their grandparents. They're going to get haircuts and be allowed to use knives but required to eat outside. They're going to ride in boats and go see Ice Age and maybe go berry picking or to visit the maple sugar farm. They're going to have trouble getting to sleep because the sun doesn't go down there until after 9, and then it comes up before 5 and they'll wake up along with it. Then their grandma will fly here with them next week, and I won't even recognize them because they will have grown up without me (also, the new haircuts).
I don't know what to do when they're not here. I'm so used to having them shadow me that everything I think about doing seems like...well hell, I can do that when they're here, that's not a big deal. It feels like my style is more cramped without them than with them. Like I need a whole new hobby to fill the little-girl-shaped holes in my life today.
You'll do much better once you hit Napa. When you're in your element and your element changes, it's weird. It'll be easier once you're out of your element. Try doing things that if your kids saw you doing they'd want to do too, that you wouldn't want them to. Stuff like ating food while sitting on the couch instead of at the table.
Posted by: green | July 08, 2009 at 08:22 PM
This is just practice for when they grow up and leave you and they are bigger so the hole in your heart is bigger also. Trust me, I even missed my girls when they were napping. This is good practice for you - hard but good. Auntie N
Posted by: Auntie Nancy | July 09, 2009 at 12:41 PM
Enjoy you're vacation! I'm very jealous of the access to a hot tub....
Posted by: Heather | July 10, 2009 at 07:08 AM
I remember sending a little girl to her Grandma's for a weekend because she needed to practice being away from me when her little sister was born. It was the longest weekend of my life. I still remember the long long days.
I hope you had fun and just chilled while they were away.
Posted by: Grammy | July 21, 2009 at 12:35 AM