Last week we took our first real vacation sans kids. In the almost four years that we have been parents, I had only been away Evie for three nights total and I had never been away from Mitchell so this vacation, at least for me, was a BIG deal. To say I was nervous would be an understatement. I typed out two pages of notes about the kids, made sure that the Medical Consent forms were filled out and notarized and typed out a will. We made sure all the laundry was done, clothes were set out and meals were prepared. I worried so much about being prepared for the kids that I didn't even pack my own bag until 11:00 the night before we left. Getting on the plane was difficult for me. I'm not afraid the fly and I've flown dozens of times before. But this was different. I was getting on a plane that would take me further away from my children than I had ever been. I trusted my parents and Pat's mom completely and I knew the kids would be find, but it still hurt to leave them. I equated it to ripping off a band-aid. It had to be done, for my sake and for theirs, but it still stung. Pat didn't have quite the same reservations as I did because this was not his first time away from the kids. He went to Portland for 4 days when Mitch was around 5 months old. Even so, I know that he understood my worry. Although he did tease me about being over-protective.
I still felt nervous and uptight when we stepped off of the plane in Key West. The feeling of something not being quite right stayed with me through the taxi ride to Tim and Katharine's condo, through lunch at The Firefly Cafe and even while we were being shown around Key West that first day. Everything was fine with the kids, of course, but I missed them and it was as if I didn't remember how to enjoy myself for an extended period of time without them. It wasn't until that evening, after a few drinks at Sloppy Joe's Bar (and after shedding a few tears that I had missed their bedtime) that I finally left myself relax. All of this sounds completely ridiculous now, but it was how I felt and I can't change that.
Once I was finally able to relax, I really enjoyed our trip and I know Pat felt the same. The rain of the first two days didn't stop us from exploring the island. We ate delicious food, walked thru Ernest Hemingway's house, saw the Southernmost Point in the USA, bought sweet treats at a candy store and checked out a little of Harry Truman's Little White House. After relaxing a little and waiting out a thunderstorm, we got cleaned up and headed out for our anniversary dinner. We didn't have any place in particular in mind and we ended up being able to sit outside on the water and watch the sunset while having happy hour drinks. Then we walked down towards a marina and had dinner at a seafood restaurant while sitting outside looking at all of the boats. It was perfect evening! We did a ghost tour of the island after dinner (very spooky!) and ended the night once again at Sloppy Joe's.
The next day it was finally sunny outside so we ate brunch outdoors at a restaurant called Blue Heaven and then walked down Duval Street toward the docks where the cruise ships are. Later I was even able to spend a little time relaxing and reading at the pool. We had dinner that night at a wonderful Spanish restaurant, enjoyed the sights and sounds of the Sunset Festival in Mallory Square (even if it was too cloudy to see a sunset that night) and once again ended the night at Sloppy Joe's. It was so lovely to be outside enjoying the fresh air and sunshine!! And it was so nice to just be able to do whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. Plus we really enjoyed getting to eat our meals at a leisurely pace and sleep for more than 4 hours at a time. :)
Overall, it was a wonderful vacation and we can't thank Tim and Katharine enough for inviting us and being excellent hosts. The kids enjoyed the time with their grandparents and Aunt Sha-Sha and did absolutely find without us. Getting away for a few days was exactly what we needed and the perfect way to celebrate our 5th anniversary!!
No comments:
Post a Comment