getting away

This past weekend, hubby and I ran away. Well, actually we drove away.

We escaped north to Duluth. Somehow we conned the grandparents into taking four rugrats for three days and three nights. (It wasn't even tough to convince them - still wondering what's wrong with them.)

We arrived to hotel room that was a suite! (This should have been a no-brainer, considering the hotel was Hawthorn Suites!) The place was huge - a kitchen, sitting room and TWO TVs! We were within walking distance of the homeschool conference and the weather was nice. It had the makings of an incredible weekend.

At this point, you're probably expecting me to launch into everything that went wrong. But, not so fast. We ate out with friends. We went to a great movie. We relaxed watching our own TV programs. We listened to some very good speakers. We spent a lot of money on the kids for next year. We had great service at Red Lobster and tipped the waitress more than we've ever tipped a human being before. (Who said you can't change?) We even managed to make it the entire weekend within getting into an argument.

That should probably tip you off as to how much we needed to get away. The last time we spent more than an evening out was almost three years ago. And we went camping, so you can about guess how high it rated on my scale. (Sorry, tenting just isn't romantic, even with candlelight. Well, okay campfires are kind of cool, but that's as far as I'll go. Especially considering that you'll smell like smoke for the rest of the weekend. I'm getting too old for adventures.)

So we had comfort over adventure this weekend (unless you count driving around Duluth trying to find one of Hubby's clients on Sunday morning.) We, okay I, decided that we really need to do this more often. We don't often get a chance to even talk to each other without someone interrupting because someone else pushed them, looked at them or won't be quiet. Even a simple conversation on the long car ride was a nice change. Funny how you don't realize how much you needed something until you're already halfway through the weekend and wishing it could last longer.

Don't get me wrong, I love my kids, but man I think I can love them more, or maybe better, if I get away from them for awhile. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed and sick of hearing all the fighting, kicking, screaming and pestering that I can't even enjoy them when they are behaving. This was a nice reminder that, yes I love my kids and yes I love them even more now that I've had a break.

My guess is now Grandma and Grandpa need a getaway.