24 Magical Hours :: A Parents’ Getaway
I love my kids, like, a lot. All three of them are under 5, so they are equally hilarious, tiring, sweet, and wild animals. Our friends who are parents to older children have told me and my husband that we are “in the trenches” with our three kids being so young. I tend to agree.
My husband and I have gone on a few trips together in our 5-year marriage, but it had been more than a year that we had some kid-free time together that was longer than an evening for dinner. We decided that it was time for us to get a quick getaway, just the two of us, if nothing else but just to get a full night of rest without feeding an infant.
The 24 hours was nothing special on paper. We drove the 3.5 hours to Downtown Houston (where a storm had just swept through), grabbed a late lunch, relaxed in the hotel, grabbed drinks and an appetizer before we headed to an Astros game, and by the 7th inning we walked home and were in bed by 10. We got to sleep all the way until 7 AM (yes, that is LATE), and enjoy an amazing breakfast buffet before hitting the road. At face value, it’s not a world-rocking itinerary.
In those moments of simplicity, my husband and I were able to reconnect not just as parents, but husband and wife. We talked the entire 3.5 hours of the drive about our jobs, our dreams, our short term house projects. When we popped into a new bar we flirted over drinks and splurged on delicious eats. At the baseball game we recreated and cheered for a team we have literally never seen before. On the walks around Downtown we held hands, giggled, and took photos of the cool things we came across. We got to have 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep followed by a breakfast we didn’t have to cook.
It felt like dating again. I don’t know about other couples, but my husband and I have been formed and changed in the last half decade. Parents or not, don’t most people change over the course of a few years? Add three littles to the mix, and you have even more changing and evolving. When there are 40,000 reasons to not make time for just yourselves, all the more reason to go above and beyond to make it happen.
We know that we are privileged to be able to afford to head out of town, but with the help of sitters or family, you can plan a staycation. You’re not a selfish parent for desiring one-on-one time with your spouse. You’re a better parent.
