Why Moms Should Run Away
It was January, 2011, and my son was almost two years old. My husband and I were on our first solo trip as a couple again and we’d decided to go big by skiing into a backcountry cabin for a night. Meanwhile, Grandma was at home with our precious child on his first time away from mom and dad.
Understandably, we were a little nervous about going away for two days, and it felt somewhat irresponsible to leave our baby so that we could go skiing for a weekend. Surely parents don’t get that, do they?
I felt like a rebellious teenager running away from home that weekend, but I came back refreshed and determined to put “me” back on the priority list again. Not that I had to go away every weekend, but I knew I wanted to plan a short adults only getaway at least once or twice a year. I also wanted to find some other moms to join me for an occasional day hike or ski tour so I could connect with other like-minded women who shared a passion for outdoor adventure.
Fast forward to 2015 . . . I recently returned from an all girls’ ski weekend, with 27 other moms! I’ve been cultivating friendships with a great group of women from an outdoor playgroup my son belongs to. This year we managed to gather 28 of us, rent an entire cabin for our group, and skip town for two glorious days.
And you know what?
The kids were fine! Just fine.
I’ve been trying to plan girls’ weekends for the past few years now, and I’ve heard all the excuses!
- My husband has never changed a diaper.
- My kids are a handful, and I can’t leave them with somebody for a whole weekend.
- We have no family in town to watch the kids.
- I’m still nursing and can’t take a weekend off.
- My kids are too little!! What will they do without me?
- Who’s going to take the kids to soccer? To dance? To hockey?…
Somehow, there are always ways around those excuses. We find ways to trust our husbands, to trust that life will go on without us, and to trust that the kids will be all right!
They will survive without mom. I promise.
It’s just one short weekend.
What do you have to gain by running away for the weekend? Check out these quotes from moms (just like you) who joined me on my last weekend girls’ trip:
- “It feels like we’ve been away for a week!”
- “I had a great time with each one of you! What a great weekend for non-cooking, no nagging, no waiting, just a blast of laughter.”
- “My heart is full!”
- “I had a perma-smile all weekend! I had fallen into a bit of a slump during this second maternity leave and lost myself a bit. I since feel refreshed and have plans to get out more.”
- “I valued being able to really exercise well, not something easy to do with a hectic schedule at home! It was also great to come home and find my husband and kids excited to see me, having had their own weekend of kid-friendly adventures and awesome dad-bonding time as well”
- “It was so great to get a chance to be an independent adult for the weekend.”
Our last girls’ weekend was so fun that one of the moms from our group has already booked the same cabin for next year, and we are planning to repeat the trip again, with more food, more wine, more great friends, and more amazing memories to bring home to our families. These trips leave me refreshed and energized. An energized mom is a happy mom and a better parent to her kids. I challenge you – skip town for the weekend and see how you feel after. Caution though, it just might become addictive and habit forming.
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This post was written by Tanya Koob exclusively for BonBon Break Media, LLC.
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