I attended a moms' getaway this weekend. There were six of us. We shopped, went out to lunch, shopped some more, ran our mouths a lot, and then checked into our hotel rooms. We had two adjoining rooms at a hotel about thirty miles from where we live (hey, a getaway is a getaway, man). As soon as we checked in and got settled in our suite, I had to use the bathroom. Click! I locked the door behind me. I do this automatically at home because, inevitably, my daughter will need to tell me something ASAP and no, mama, I can't wait thirty seconds! Then I remembered that she wasn't there and that my friends were unlikely to be so desperate to show me their drawings that they would feel compelled to bust in on me in the bathroom.
One of the other moms made a beeline for the telephone as soon as we got to our hotel rooms. She was going to unplug it so that her young boys would not play with it and dial 911 (emergency personnel tend to frown upon that sort of thing). Then she, too, remembered that she was childless for the weekend. When we were out shopping, several of us remarked that we didn't quite know what to do with ourselves in the store when we don't have to say, "Stop touching that. I'm not buying that. Put that down." Over and over and over again.
We all adore our children but it was nice to relax for a day (and sleep alone for a night). We brought our swimsuits but never got in the whirlpool. We talked until it was time to go to dinner and then talked some more after that. We compared notes on our kids (I wondered if it is reasonable to expect my daughter to bathe herself eventually or if she's just playing me for the servant that I am) and ate snacks and drank adult beverages. It's always nice to spend time with a group that acknowledges (and embraces) the fact that being a mom doesn't mean you're not a wholly individual person anymore. One of my biggest peeves is when a friend becomes a mom and then ceases being who they were before.
I am not sure if I will be invited next year, in as much as I spent a solid hour (at least) in the bathroom showering and getting ready this morning, leaving five moms to use the other bathroom. Wash-n-go I ain't.
I'm a proud mom, though.
When I got home, my daughter demonstrated this useful skill: