Weekend Getaway

I was a young mother with four young children. They were all in school but I worked while they learned. Then I had all the things people do when school and work hours end. Cooking supper, supervising the children, and straightening the house.I needed a vacation!

I began to squirrel money away. An extra couple of dollars here and an extra bit of change there. It really does not take long. I did not want to deduct money from any family funds because this was a strictly selfish thing.

I then told my husband what I intended to do. I told him that I was taking a weekend for myself. If he wanted to come along he was welcome. Of course he wanted to come... he said.

I told him to pick a weekend that would fit in with his schedule. He did. It was about a month in the future.

I asked my parents if they would keep the kids for the weekend. Of course they would. My vacation was becoming a reality.

It was not going to be anything expensive. I just needed to get away and enjoy some peace and quiet. I made a reservation at a hotel that was not too far away but not too close to home. I would be doing no cooking or cleaning or taking care of anybody else.

The weekend drew near. I reminded my husband to make sure he had his business in order so he would be free that weekend.

He tried to stall and said maybe we could do it another time.  I told him that of course we could but I was going that weekend whether he went or not. It was my weekend. He finally realized that I was going so he got ready too.

So I packed a bag, dropped the kids off at my parents' house, and picked up my husband. Off we went to the hotel.

The room was nice and clean with two big double beds. This was a weekend for relaxation, not a second honeymoon. We each took a bed and relaxed while we watched TV.

After a nice shower with no children screaming that they needed something from me I crawled into bed to watch television. I promptly fell asleep.

I slept late the next day. How nice. My husband was still sleeping soundly as I ordered room service. It is so nice to have someone bring breakfast. I sipped on my tea for a good while after my food was gone.

We simply lounged on our beds watching television with no interruptions. The problem is that there is only so much to do in a hotel room. We were both getting a little antsy. We needed to get out for a while.

We went to the mall. This was to be an inexpensive weekend so I had not planned for shopping. We window shopped and made wish lists.

My husband spent a lot of time looking at riding lawn equipment. I guess it took him back to days on the farm.

I looked at pretty things. Most of them were impractical and I knew I would never own any of them.

We stopped at a little restaurant in the mall for our evening meal. We enjoyed the food and talked about nothing at all. Very nice.

We considered seeing a movie. There was nothing showing that we wanted to see. We went back to the hotel.

The television was waiting for us. We watched an old movie or three and fell asleep.

The next morning we again ordered breakfast from room service and lounged in the room. It was Sunday and my weekend was coming to a close.

We went and picked up the children. We visited with my family for a while then went home. Real life started all over.

But I was content again. I loved my family and enjoyed my children. I just needed to relax and recharge which I did.

Now this may sound like an extremely boring little vacation to many. And it was. It was exactly what I needed. Just a little time to myself without knowing that with the next breath I had other obligations. I was satisfied.