I’m On My Way…
by Kym on April 23, 2009
Traveling without my husband and children is a very head spinning experience. Being the spoiled gal I am, this isn’t my first experience of it. It’s a bit unsettling. Like tight rope walking without a safety net. My family? Is my safety net. With them I am always safe and comfortable and loved. Being out in the wide world without that reassurance is…disturbing.
Sometimes I go grocery shopping at night after the kids are in bed. I always buy diapers first so that any one who happens to glance at me (because I’m SO interesting like that) will know that I am a mom. My identity is too intertwined with my mom-ness for me to be comfortable outside of it. I feel a need to be seen for what and who I am. Take my kids out of the picture and everything feels wrong. Off.
And yet I continue to go off on these little jaunts, don’t I? It can’t be all that bad, yes? And the truth is that it isn’t, really. I enjoy my few days off every year. While unsettling they are also rejuvenating. I miss my kids like crazy while I’m gone, get this, no-matter-how-crazy-they-were-driving-me-right-before-I-left. Oh yes, absence often does make the heart grow fonder, and my little Mom-cations definitely have that effect.
So while I’m off and away this weekend, I know I’ll enjoy a brief tingle of freedom, and then I’ll spend the remainder of the time with that niggling feeling that something is wrong. Something is missing. But I’ll be able to enjoy myself regardless because I’ll know my safety net will be waiting when at last I come home again.
14 comments
Oh! I hope you enjoy it. There is no question that my kids are my safety net, too. Especially since I still don’t feel I fit into the culture here. They give me an excuse to keep to myself when I want to and make it a thousand times easier to talk to strangers when I want to do that. Still, it sometimes feels great to get out on my own and to remember that I’m Lisa, too! When I taught English (on or two evenings a week) my students would sometimes invite me out to a pub with them after class! Even besides the whole pub thing, I wasn’t tempted at all, after being away from my kids for 2 or three hours, but I loved that they just knew Lisa!
LisAway´s last blog post..One Yearish Mark GiveAway
by LisAway on April 23, 2009 at 3:01 am. #
“Momcation” eh? LOVE that title! :) I hope it’s a fabulous one . . . one that leaves you feeling happy and ready to take on whatever life throws at you! *HUGS*
Kate´s last blog post..50 Things
by Kate on April 23, 2009 at 4:57 am. #
This particular mom-cation is my favorite of the year.
And when you come, I get to SEE you! Woot!
Annette´s last blog post..We Interrupt This Bloggy Break . . .
by Annette on April 23, 2009 at 5:18 am. #
Hope you have a great time!
I can understand kids being a safety net — I find myself glad when I have to take a baby to R.S. in a new ward, ’cause it gives me something to talk about to the person sitting next to me … or an excuse to sit by myself and not have to talk to anybody without looking like a weirdo. Maybe that’s not quite what you meant, but that’s what I thought of when you said that.
by Beth on April 23, 2009 at 6:23 am. #
Have a great time!
Jaina´s last blog post..Warmth Awakens
by Jaina on April 23, 2009 at 7:29 am. #
Ooh, this is a cool template, too! I hope I’ll get to see you in Utah!
Heidi Ashworth´s last blog post..A Post That Defies Description. And A Title. Apparently.
by Heidi Ashworth on April 23, 2009 at 8:13 am. #
“My identity is too intertwined with my mom-ness for me to be comfortable outside of it.”
Love this. I so know how that feels, too. I try to enjoy my me time, but it’s always nice to get home to the people who love you the most.
Becky´s last blog post..Control issues
by Becky on April 23, 2009 at 8:29 am. #
Awaiting your arrival…
And I know the reunion will be sweet when you return.
charrette´s last blog post..Where Virtual Meets Reality
by charrette on April 23, 2009 at 1:22 pm. #
I hope you have a great time!
I’m opposite from you, in that when I go out by myself without husband and kids, I pretty up in hopes people won’t automatically think “mom” when they see me. I wonder if I ever succeed…
Summer´s last blog post..Things I love about Sassypants
by Summer on April 23, 2009 at 5:35 pm. #
One thing I love about these “momcations” is that I get to have my celebrity moment when I walk back into the door after my absence. I get that squealing and “Mom is home! Mom is home!” and the hugs and excited stories. So not only is the trip a little selfish, so is the homecoming. I love it. Have a great time.
Steph @ Diapers and Divinity´s last blog post..Facing your own demons
by Steph @ Diapers and Divinity on April 23, 2009 at 7:18 pm. #
I’m facing this particular emotional dilemma myself. Tomorrow, I depart for the grand world o’ writers yet tonight, I find myself melancholy, heartsick, and repeatedly glancing at my loved ones as though I’m going away for 2 years instead of 2 days. They’re my world, no doubt about it—it’s natural to have that world off kilter when I am not with them.
I guess I just wanted to say, I hear you. We’ll console each other at the conference and weep into tissue whilst we rhapsodize about our lil’ rugrats and soulmates. =]
L.T. Elliot´s last blog post..[TSoND]
by L.T. Elliot on April 23, 2009 at 7:32 pm. #
I know how you feel. I always have that feeling of absolute freedom but there’s always that feeling in the back of my mind that I’m missing something. It’s always my husband and kids.
Enjoy your trip!
VirtualSprite´s last blog post..home
by VirtualSprite on April 23, 2009 at 7:58 pm. #
I understand your feelings. . .
But I’m glad you are here with me!
Eowyn´s last blog post..Skewed
by Eowyn on April 24, 2009 at 8:51 am. #
Those little getaways can be so therapeutic, but, ironically, we do always miss the kids. I really like the look of your blog. Well-done!
Kazzy´s last blog post..carrots anyone?
by Kazzy on April 24, 2009 at 9:06 pm. #