A Gift Experience with a Dose of Mom Guilt

Guilt, It Does Happen

Being a mom of three kids and two fur babies’ guilt as well as unexpected things tend to arise at any given time. Life happens every single day, but the worry of how the handling of it goes will always pull at my heart strings. This year for Valentine’s Day, I gifted my husband with a weekend trip to experience the New Orleans Bourbon Festival. Just days before our planned weekend, one of our Goldendoodles fell ill and the morning of our departure was when things seemed to make her feel uneasy a little more than before. We knew that her medication would take over and help her, but we also noticed that she did not want mommy and daddy out of her site. Imagine the guilt I felt in that moment.

A Much Better Feeling

After being stuck in a tough spot, the packing resumed and all weekend instructions were given. Loaded our bags and then headed out to one of our favorite cities. The ride there was smooth with a little less worry and guilt than earlier that morning. As we pulled up to the valet area, it was the lights, the sounds, and the feeling of being in the big city. New Orleans is a city that has grown on us, and makes us excited each time we arrive. After having a great check in experience and being greeted with a friendly smile, we made our way up to the seventh floor to our beautiful suite. Surrounded by tall buildings, beautiful sites and friendly people, we began our adult weekend away.

Bourbon/Whiskey Love

Never could I have imagined the taste for bourbon and whiskey was an absolute thing. My husband found his love for it a couple of years ago, and that may have been what we call “late to the game”, but when I tell you he has caught up in just that little amount of time. Absolutely no more counter space to prove it. New adventures for sure and for this mom to actually get into it as well made for a wonderful time. It’s the bonding for me. Entering this huge space filled with an atmosphere that would make your head turn. Every turn was a new bottle to try, a new sip to taste, and a new whiff to smell. In his element was my husband standing in awe. I loved this for him, made me tear up a little. After sipping here and there, to my surprise I found a few that were given the thumbs up! Being right by his side, trying not to listen to the guilt in the back of my mind, I slowly began to remember that all was well back home. As we continued to move from booth to booth, learning more of the history of some of the bottles present, we both knew that we had to make this event each coming year after having this amazing experience for ourselves.

Oh, What A Gift It Was

This was the perfect gift, the perfect experience, and I knew it right when I discovered it to actually be a thing. Highly recommend to all moms to gift their husbands or themselves if bourbon/whiskey is something present in your stages of life. It’s the little things, always. Sometimes schedules don’t always allow for such happenings, but to have made the time for a chance to unwind, relax, and just take a break did make for a great time. Even with the guilt that dangled over us, we knew deep down that all would be well. It’s what’s appreciated, the way my husband thanked me for this experience was priceless. An unwrapping of a gift equaled an incredible weekend away despite what we had encountered just days before leaving. The feeling of guilt did not overcome this experience, it actually reminded us of the joy and connection that we found in this shared experience. It felt great knowing all was well and ended well. Absolutely made this mom not have to tug at her own heart strings!