- I hadn't taken a trip with a friend, without my husband and kids, in almost six years.
- I went to Stowe, Vermont for a weekend with a friend and came back refreshed.
I used to travel a lot, both for work and for fun. I would take several trips a year with friends, including adventures and laid-back destinations. But in the last six years, I had kids back to back, and then the pandemic happened. I recently realized I hadn't taken a real vacation without my family during that time.
So when I had the opportunity to go on a two-day trip with a very good friend to Stowe, Vermont, just to chill and see the leaves change color, I jumped right on it. Turns out it was exactly what I needed.
Doing nothing felt glorious
While I have gone on trips without my children or husband, they were never just for fun. I went back to Argentina — where I'm from — to say goodbye to my grandma when I knew she was going to die soon. I traveled to Argentina again years later for my friend's wedding, but it was a weekend packed with events and very little sleep, and I flew right back to my kids afterward because I was consumed by mom guilt.
This was different.
My friend and I didn't have many plans going into our Vermont trip. We knew we wanted to do a couple of hikes, and eat at some specific restaurants, but everything else was to be determined.
With three little kids, I'm always tied to their schedule. I joke that I'm constantly doing "mom math" counting down the hours to when I have to do something, like prepping lunch, or thinking about when a nap needs to happen. It's like my brain can never fully shut off. But without the kids around, and with no important activities in the schedule, I was able to enjoy doing nothing.
I spent hours each day chatting with my friend and catching up on life. While I do hang out with friends regularly at home, especially my tennis friends, we are always in a rush to get home to our kids.
I felt like myself again
As my kids get older, I've started to feel more human. Most days, I'm getting an adequate amount of sleep, I don't have to eat with one hand while holding a baby on the other, and my body feels like it belongs to me again.
That said, my brain often feels like mush. My husband and I can rarely have an adult conversation during the day, and at night we are so exhausted from parenting that we smoke weed, watch movies, and relax.
But during my stay at Spruce Peak, located at Stowe Mountain Resort, I was fully myself again. I woke up "late" — meaning 7:30 a.m. because I can't sleep any longer than that after having kids. I took long showers, had slow breakfasts, and then planned what to do. It felt refreshing.
Doing things without whining as the background soundtrack reset my mood
I went on a hike with my friend to a waterfall, and we chatted along the way, stopped to take photos, and took photos for other hikers. Not hearing any whining reset my mood.
When I came back home, the first thing my husband said to me was, "You look happy." Which I was. Now I know that I need these trips more often. They don't have to be extravagant, expensive vacations (although those are nice too), but just a break from the monotony of parenting little kids from time to time.