As many of you know Cat Herder and I had the opportunity to go away for 3 days this weekend, alone with no kids. And, I have to tell you it was wonderful. I've come to the conclusion that everyone needs a chance to get away, whether your married, single, kids, no kids, it can do wonders for you. Cat and I went to Sleeping Bear Dunes in Traverse City, MI. We hiked sand dunes and climbed them (although we passed on the 450 ft. sand dune) we enjoyed beautiful weather, beautiful beaches, we exercised muscles we didn't know we had! But it was invigorating! We discovered we actually do like each other. It gave us a chance to regroup. We didn't even talk about the kids much (at least not our own). We did talk about Cat's 18 lively, spoiled, but deep down, fairly decent boy scouts alot. We had fun, but the worst part was IT WAS OVER WAY TOO QUICK! We came home to me wondering "Did we really go anywhere or was it just a dream? and Cat asking me, "Tell me again why we came back."
So my advice to anyone is to take a break any way and any time you can. Rest assured though, the insanity of life will still be there when you get back. But hey, if you take pictures of where you went you at least got proof that you went somewhere!
Poncho, I am glad that you and Cat had a great get away! It sounds like a lot of fun and a good time to reconnect. My family went to the Sand Dunes by Lake Michigan when I was in fifth grade. We have pictures to prove it too. My brother snapped a picture of every step at one point descending the hill that we could have made a flip book.
My sis used to live in Niles, Michigan. So a couple years ago we went to the Dunes. (don't know if these are the same ones you are talking about). We almost went back on my visit last week (she lives in Indiana), however, opted for something more local.
Jen wrote:How old is your youngest? I wonder if dh and I will ever be able to go away alone again.
You will... Hubby and I get time away together pretty often now... but I remember the years when it felt like it would never come...
Then suddenly you'll find your baby is a senior and you will wonder how those years could have gone so fast...??? I have to admit that hubby and I love to be together now... and we too really like each other, and are still best friends... It's how we started...
Next week we will be in Utah and plan to attend several of the temples while there... We are also going to get to meet a few of my friends from across the river, and we are atcually staying in the same place with Dyany and beefche... I am really looking forward to the trip and out get away. Next year for our 25 anniversary year we are taking a cruise... Probably Alaska, in the summer, even though our actual anniversary is in Nov.
We just aren't into going off without the kids much. We want them with us and we have more fun that way. I know, it's really weird. MrCoco is already whining about when they grow up and move away and some aren't even born yet! I've never met anyone quite like him...
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Life is tough but it's tougher if you're stupid. -John Wayne
How old is your youngest? I wonder if dh and I will ever be able to go away alone again.
Our youngest is 2 1/2. But, Cat and I haven't been away alone together in about 6 years. Even then, you can still count on one hand how many times we've been alone together for a weekend, and that's counting temple trips back in the days when the nearest temple to us was in Washington D.C. And it sounds like the Sand Dunes we went to are the very same ones that others around here have been to. Small world.
I think lots of times it's just a matter of priorities. Most people I know (especially in the Church) won't prioritize vacations (esp. ones without the children) because it's 'frivolous' and 'for themselves' or even 'no one can take care of my family for even 2 days, I have to be completely indispensable.' I see a few problems with this. For one thing, if you totally define yourself as a parent, and completely indispensable, then what would happen if you ever die? You have to plan a little for contingencies, esp. helping your kids to get along without you for whatever reason. Second, there's the parable of 'sharpening the saw' -- there was a man who cut down trees for a living. He had a lot to do so he would never stop cutting trees, though the task went slower and slower as time went on. Turns out his saw had become quite dull, but because he would never stop cutting down trees, he could never sharpen it, so he was wasting a lot of time and effort trying to cut trees with a dull saw. IOW, we HAVE to schedule down time so that we have the proper resources to deal with life well. Lastly, what about your relationship with your spouse? Did you know that retirement/empty nest time is the second highest time of divorce out there? It's because the wife usually gets SO caught up in raising children and that's all, and husband gets SO caught up in making money and that's all, that when they finally find themselves alone together after 25 years or so, they no longer know each other and they don't really like each other anymore. Yes, your kids will be sealed to you, but it's your spouse that you'll really be with forever. You really need to work on that relationship a lot, so it's important to SCHEDULE time to do that.
It's very hard to do, esp. when you have to really finagle to get babysitters for cheap (which is ESPECIALLY hard when you have special needs kids) but I think it's very important.
