Tomorrow MrZ and I are leaving on a 5-day trip…by ourselves. We are going to Tucson to visit my brother and I can NOT wait. We have not ever gone a trip that long without one or all of our kids. Ever. The most we’ve ever done is an overnight trip here and there, and one 2-night trip before NikkiZ was born. We’ve been together for almost 10 years now and have never taken a trip alone. It’s weird to imagine that. The funny thing is…it didn’t really occur to me until a few weeks ago. That this was going to be a first. Since I was a Mom when MrZ met me, that’s just always been what we’ve been together: Parents. Even before NikkiZ was born, we had LilZ together. We went on a FamilyMoon, not a Honey Moon, because we did more than marry each other. We created a family. So we took our first family vacation after we got married! Now, we’ve gone on solo trips without kids before, traveling for work and such. But together? Sans children? Never.
So…for five days we will be together and not drawing straws for who gets to change the next diaper. Not trading out baths for dishes (that’s a nightly ritual in our house…one does baths while the other does dishes) or packing up bags for school the next day. No carpools or sporting events. We don’t even have to make sure anyone gets fed for five whole days! No scheduling a day around naps (unless it’s our own) or bedtimes. We can go on walks without strollers and go to restaurants without high chairs. This may possibly be the weirdest trip MrZ and I have had together because we don’t really know how to function as just…a couple. 10 years and this will be the longest time we’ve spent NOT as parents together. Weird.
Of course – the prep before hand may kill me. Trying to make sure every kid ends up where they’re supposed to be without putting the strain all on one friend or family member? Is like it’s own geometric theorem that needs solving. Thank god we have willing family and friends to help us. The little kids are staying with MrZ’s parents while my friend Stace (who also has a high-school aged child) is responsible for LilZ. Of course, she doesn’t quite realize what all that’s going to entail. I’m going to sit down with her tonight and beg for her help getting LilZ everywhere he needs to be. Maybe I’ll bring her chocolates. Of course two of NikkiZ’s BFFs are having birthday parties this weekend that she “can’t miss” and we’re not even going to stress about the dogs. We’re boarding them instead of having someone take care of them. It’s hard enough making sure the kids are ready, I don’t even want to worry about the dogs too.
But once we leave MrZ’s parent’s house without the kids tomorrow? And head to the airport? That’s it. It’s just the two of us for five days without one diaper bag in sight. It’s going to be the weirdest thing EVER, and hopefully exactly what I need to rejuvenate myself for the holidays.
One of the earliest pictures I have of just the two of us. May, 2001.
Have fun!
Awesome! You’re going to have a blast. Enjoy your time together. And I bet you may even begin to miss things like diapers and bath time after a few days!
Have fun and travel safe! I will be in the AZ a week from tomorrow…can’t wait!
Have fun!
Oh my lawd. You will have a BLAST. Once you finish mourning the lack of poopy diapers and tantrums, that is. It hasn’t been that long since our last child-free vacation (4 years maybe?) but we need one. BADLY. Jealously thinking of you both this week!
Enjoy! Even if you do nothing all day, it will be amazing! However, my advice is stay busy, at least at first. My hubby and I took a 4 night cruise w/o kids in March and it was actually hard at first. It had been 6 years for us…
And now that I think about it- schedule some alone time too. One of my favorite parts about the trip was getting a massage or sitting by the pool reading a book w/o worrying that I had to hurry back because the kids would be driving him crazy! Serious- actual ALONE time!
Have fun!!
Enjoy it!!
Great idea. Try not to talk about kids and money and you should have a great time.
Chocolate is always a good idea.
Have fun!
Hope you have a great trip, and make sure you get a little romance in there
Or a lot. You know, whatever works. Heh.
You should eat at Cafe Poca Cosa while you’re in Tucson. Have fun!
i hope you guys have so much fun!!! it’s about time you guys do something like this!!! i hope this will be the first of many more adult trips!! you guys DESERVE it!
sounds fantastic, have fun.
Have a great time! My husband and I just took a 3 day trip without kids. It was the first time since Will (4 1/2 yrs.) was born. The planning for them was a royal pain but it was so worth it. The best part is getting a few days of no responsibility. No one is depending on you for anything and that in itself is relaxing. We joked on our way out of town that it would be interesting to see if we still liked each other (we did!) and we did not have one single disagreement the whole time.
I hope yours goes as well for you!!
Enjoy~
Oh my gosh, you are going to have so much fun! Have a wonderful, awesome time!
So cool! J and I will be going to New York for Blogher weekend in August sans kids, and I’m already looking forward to it.
Mr. Flinger and I just left for the first time for four days. It’s been 6 years. So I can TO-TALLY appreciate the magnitude of this.
Glad you had a good time!!