Tell me to take a deep breath. The children will live, everyone will survive, and I will not call a million times a day...

[AimeeM]

... aaaand - GO!

 

We're leaving next weekend for our weekend "away". Okay, so really we're only going 5 minutes away, to stay downtown. The kids are staying at our home - we're paying my youngest sister to come and stay with them for the weekend. She will also have my nephew (same age as my middle son).

 

I have our regular sitter (who is also my very best friend) on call, in case the Flying Toddler Monster doesn't allow my sister to sleep, and sister needs some down time. Kiddos' Godmother lives across the street and will check on them. I have half the subdivision on "look out" to check in as needed.

 

And I'm still freaking out. It can't be normal to freak out this much over a weekend without the kids. I'm so terrified and I'm afraid it's going to spill over onto the trip, and I can't let it! My husband has put so much effort into this (and book the hotel already so that I can't back out, lol); he's planned "surprises" and I so badly do NOT want to think about the kids all weekend! We need this in a big way. Our marriage is solid, but as is typical for this stage in life (with young children), we are almost completely focused on the kids.

 

I'm more worried about my sister than I am my kids :P She's competent, but my youngest is a .... handful :D

[Ausmumof3]

Pretty sure I would be freaking out too. But the kids will be fine. Once you get there and have some quiet time you will love it and have a ball. Then you'll come back with fresh perspective and love for them.

[fraidycat]

It's normal to be nervous about something out of the ordinary. You'll be fine. You'll think about the kids, but you'll have time to focus on you and the hubby, too.

 

Enjoy your weekend!

[Snickerdoodle]

Don't borrow trouble.   The likelyhood of the moon falling into the ocean is pretty slim.

[wintermom]

Sounds like you have made wonderful arrangements for the dc and your sister. Now focus on your amazing dh who's also made great arrangements and have a terrific weekend!

 

It's not just the dc, but all the cleaning, laundry, chores, appointments, etc. that you'll be leaving behind - won't that be nice?

[Chris in VA]

Allow your thoughts to turn to them a bit. It's normal. Just maybe don't make ALL your convos about them!

 

I'll bet it's similar to when we start dh's vacation. He is a priest, and I go to "his" church. It's a big part of my life, and our life together, and I want to talk about my life with him; he's so busy during the year. But he desperately needs a break, so he can come back refreshed and ready to start the fall with energy and focus.

 

So we will talk for a little while about whatever I want, and church may come up, and then he'll tell me, "Ok. That's all I can do right now. Remember this is a break for me." I honor that, and I soak in my husband for the rest of the time--without work talk, without feeling anyone take precedence over us, etc. sometimes the church can feel like it's his mistress if you know what I mean! (He has good boundaries, it's just tiring and church takes a lot of time--he works six days and some evening, researches for teaching classes and doing sermons, visits, helps, etc.)

 

It IS refreshing to take a "thought break", and it means we can focus on our marriage and ENJOY each other. We can look into each other's eyes without the "reflection" of anyone or anything else appearing over the shoulder of the one we love! LOL 

 

I use this example instead of telling you of our times away from the kids just to give a different situation as a metaphor of sorts. HTH

 

You will be fine, and your kids will have a healthy example of how to take care of their marriages.

 

 

[lmrich]

You have it covered. Relax. You have several responsible adults in charge. Relax.

[Night Elf]

Your kids will have a blast. It sounds like you've done everything to prepare so I really don't think you should worry. It's perfectly okay to check in once or twice a day, like just before bed to ask how their day went or something. When my DH and I did a weekend trip, my kids were bummed that we returned home because they were having so much fun with my cousin!

[Word Nerd]

It sounds like a fun weekend for everyone! Enjoy yourself, focus on DH, and don't feel like you have to put the kids entirely out of your mind to have a nice time with your DH.

[JustEm]

I'm jealous!! Dh and I usually go away for 2 nights in august and leave the kids with my parents or my brother. This year we're purchasing a new vehicle in august or September so needed to save that money for the car.

 

All will be OK! And you will have a wonderful time.

[GinaPagnato]

Don't worry AT ALL. Your kids will likely be better behaved and more under control with others watching them than with you at the helm. That's how it always was when my kids were little.

 

You are not the first mommy, nor the last, who is leaving her kids for a short trip. There is no collection of horror stories of what could go wrong, as far as I know. ;) It's really not THAT serious!

 

Enjoy your time away. Seriously.