Reentry after spending
time away from the kids is difficult enough, but coming back to dreary, cold
Michigan makes it even harder.
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| It's spring in Napa Valley! |
Getting back to the
routine was surprisingly easy. No, easy
is not the right word. It’s kind of like
jumping into freezing cold water and then swimming because if not, you will
drown. So it’s more like survival.
Before Napa Valley and
Ojai Valley seem like far, distant memories, there were a few thoughts I needed
to share before they fade away.
I NEED TO BE NICER TO
MYSELF
See this salad?
I had it Ca’ Momi at the Oxbow Public Market It’s asparagus topped with frisee and a
crumbled hardboiled egg dressed with the most delicious lemon vinaigrette I
have ever tasted. The woman who made
this salad prepared it with so much love and attention to detail. I am sure that she does this for every salad,
but somehow this made me feel really special.
Right then and there,
while I was marveling at how the sweet-tart lemon dressing perfectly complimented
the asparagus and frisee, I realized that I am not nice enough to myself. Sure, I go to yoga and treat myself to
coffee, but it’s always mashed in between something like grading assignments or
volunteering at the kids’ school.
I am not even sure how to incorporate this
kind of focused, non-hurried moment in my life at this time, but I am sure
going to try because it felt amazing.
SPENDING TIME ALONE WITH
MY HUSBAND
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| Oh, hey. I remember you. |
Between swim practice
and Lego club and making lunches and filling water bottles and the Never. Ending.
Bedtime. Routine, I sometimes forget that I used to have a great time with my
husband. Not that we don’t have a great
time together now; it’s just not the same when we are squeezing in a date night
at the end of a long week and trying to stay up until the babysitter has put
the kids down to sleep.
I realize that even
though we do a decent job scheduling a date night (even if it’s a half-assed
one that includes running errands at Target), we definitely do not spend enough
undivided time together.
I am not saying that we
need to leave our kids for a week and go clear across the country every time we
want to spend time together. However, I
am saying that after spending time in a place like Napa, buying orange juice at
Target should not be considered a date night.
EAT MORE CROISSANTS
More specifically,
Bouchon croissants. Every morning at our
stay at The Cottages of Napa (which I totally recommend because they were
quaint and unique as a traditional B & B, but more private since we had our
own kitchen/patio to eat), we had a basket of Bouchon baked goods delivered for
breakfast.
The croissants were
lovely, buttery, flaky perfection. Also,
the blueberry muffin was so perfect, I don’t know how I am supposed to eat one
that is not baked at Bouchon.
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| My wish is for Bouchon to deliver croissants to me in Michigan |
DRINK MORE WINE
It’s one thing to pair
up a cheap (yet satisfying) glass of wine with some Golden Grahams because you
are tired and desperate after a long day, but it is entirely different to learn
the history of the vineyard, learn about the wine making process, and savor a
glass with a delectable bite of food that pairs perfectly with that glass of
wine.
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| Robert Mondavi |
I love my kids. I love them more than I thought I could love
anything in the whole entire world. But
parenting is hard. So very hard. I sometimes feel guilty for wanting
needing a break, and other times, I don’t even recognize that I need a break
because I am too far deep in the parenting trenches to even know there is life
happening elsewhere.
This trip really helped
me remember how refreshed I feel after I enjoy moments that are separate from
the kids. And more importantly, I realized that refilling my tank should not be
associated with any kind of guilty feelings.
Have you taken a break
away from being a parent? Where did you
go? What did you do? How did you feel?
