You probably have a million reasons not to go.
The laundry’s still sitting in clean piles in baskets, waiting to be folded.
The sink is full of dishes and the kids’ rooms are a mess.
There’s a half-finished project in the kitchen that you haven’t had time to complete…and speaking of projects, your oldest child has a major one due at school later this week.
Also, did I just hear someone sneeze…twice? Is he coming down with something?
And the list goes on and on. But let me just go ahead and spoil the ending for you…there will never be a “perfect” time to go on a solo trip. If that’s the moment you’re waiting for, your trip will just be put on hold indefinitely.
So let me encourage you: take a solo trip, Mama!
You’ve been working hard to keep ALL of the plates spinning, and you could use some solo relaxation time.
Just try to imagine what you’re in for:
- A quiet ride alone in the car. Maybe you stream your throwback playlist and sing along to each song at the top of your lungs — no one’s judging. Or maybe you ride in silence, decompressing from the ever-present noise of your household. Either way, you will complete the ride without any unexpected emergency potty breaks and without a constant chorus of, “Mama! Mama! Mama, LOOK!” coming from the back seat.
- You pick the destination, and you plan the itinerary. Maybe you’ll get the chance to do something your kids would never want to do, like slow-walk through an art museum and actually read the captions on each piece. Or visit a farmers’ market and engage the vendors in conversation that doesn’t feel rushed or interrupted. Maybe you’ll go for a hike and take the advanced trail that your littles would never be able to handle. Or maybe you’ll do early check-in at your hotel and take a long afternoon nap nestled into a fluffy white comforter and five or six down pillows. This is your trip, so it’s your call.
- You can eat in whichever restaurant you choose. Maybe you’re a fan of Indian food or Thai food, and no one else in your family can tolerate it. Now is your chance to indulge! You can order whatever you want from the menu and not have to worry about ordering something that you can share with the baby or cutting up someone else’s meat into tiny little pieces. You don’t have to rush to finish your meal because the kids are getting restless, and you don’t have to negotiate how many more bites with an unwilling eater. You can eat your meal at your own pace, taking time to people watch or maybe use your earbuds to listen to an audiobook that is definitely too PG-13 for listening at home.
- Picture a king-sized bed in a hotel room that you get to have all to yourself. Maybe you order room service and wear a green facial mask while donning one of those cozy hotel bathrobes. Maybe you raid the Walgreens on the corner for candy and eat chocolate after chocolate while sitting in bed watching bad reality TV. Maybe you drink your Cabernet right from the black box using a bendy straw, streaming that rom-com that everyone keeps talking about but you haven’t had a chance to see. It’s your night, and it’s entirely up to you. But one thing is for sure: you won’t have an unwelcome late night wake-up call, and you won’t be squished into using just a small corner of your mattress because of a young bed-intruder’s midnight acrobatics. You may sleep better than you have in a long, long time.
It may feel strange at first to spend a day or two alone on a solo trip. But eventually, your fists will unclench, and your eye will stop twitching. You’ll be able to finally hear the sound of your own thinking, and your heart rate will begin to slow. You’ll wonder how you went this long without taking a solo trip, and you might even get out your phone and do some research to start planning the next one.
