The day after our wedding, we left for a 10 day trip to Florida, the Bahamas, and Disney. We both love road trips so we had decided to drive. We drove halfway the first day and the rest on the second day. Then we spent a few days in a house a few blocks from the beach in Cocoa Beach, FL. Then we went on a 3-day, 2-night cruise to the Bahamas (BEST EVER). Then we spent a night in Disney and went to the Magic Kingdom Park, and then we drove back home in two days.
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| Cocoa Beach, FL |
This was in July 2015, so three years ago! Since then, Joel-Michael and I have done overnights together to Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cleveland, and a few bigger road trips. Some of our adventures have been with kids and some without. While I love spending time as a family, sometimes you just need a break from your kids and time to reconnect with your spouse.
That's how I was starting to feel most recently. Damien just turned one a few days ago on the 25th, and my birthday was the 29th. A couple weeks ago, I mentioned to Mickey that rather than an actual birthday present, I thought it would be more fun to go away for a night, or better yet, two nights! It had been over a year since we had gone away without kids. Not because we didn't want to go, but mostly because Damien wouldn't take a bottle until he was about 9 1/2 or 10 months old. And even then, he was still nursing in the mornings until just last month. So I felt stuck and unable to actually leave him much before now.
BUT, since he stopped nursing a month ago, and has been sleeping really well, I knew it was time to get away. We really needed the time to reconnect as adults, as parents, as best friends, as husband and wife - ALONE. Away from our wonderful, amazing, and super tiring children. haha.
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| Adorable Children |
And so we planned it! We're actually on it now. So why am I writing a blog post, you ask, instead of spending all the time with my amazing husband? Well, to be honest, because even in a marriage, alone time is necessary and also beneficial. :)
Back when we were on our honeymoon, I remember there being a point where I was feeling overwhelmed and kind of emotional and I wasn't really sure why! After all, I was finally married and with my best friend and we finally didn't have to be apart and say goodbye each night! And yet....it was a big change compared to my life before getting married. I used to always have some sort of built-in alone time. I slept alone. I got dressed alone. I brushed my teeth and used the bathroom alone. And now I was just supposed to.....share? With someone I knew, yes, but not like that! lol.
So after some crying and confusion as to why I felt this way, we realized that I (and he) needed some time apart - even on our honeymoon. It seems counter-intuitive, but that's what we needed. So I took some time to sit in the bedroom and journal and think and just be by myself. And I'm pretty sure he watched TV in the living room. haha. But that's what we needed to recharge and be ready for life again. ;) I know this might not be the case for everyone, with all the different personalities and situations, but that's what we needed.
Fast forward to today - Joel-Michael and I dropped the kids off @ 12:30pm yesterday with grandparents, and left for Robinson for 2 nights, only 30 minutes away from where we live, but hey it was not in town so that was good enough for us!
Yesterday we had a great time - we checked into our hotel, took a super long (uninterrupted by kids) nap, went to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday, went back to the hotel, exercised, jumped in the pool, and then spontaneously went to a late showing of First Man.
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| All Dressed Up! :) |
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| Cheesecake Factory for my Birthday <3 |
And so far today, we've eaten breakfast, gone back to sleep, gone out for super yummy donuts (Peace, Love, and Little Donuts = the BOMB) and lunch @ Moe's. Then we went over to Barnes and Noble, which is where I'm currently sitting and typing. I love books and I love reading. Joel-Michael, on the other hand, likes reading, but not as much as I do. So he looked through the board games and puzzles and things like that.
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| Super Yummy Donuts! |
Then we sat down to decide what to do next. I was feeling indecisive about buying a book to read. He had mentioned wanting to see a movie (one that I have zero interest in lol). Both of us were tired but not really wanting to sleep. I don't know exactly how to describe it, other than I felt like I couldn't make a decision partially because I knew that at this moment, we didn't necessarily want to do what the other person wanted to do/we were both feeling indecisive.
And this is where it differs from our honeymoon. Lol. I told him I thought he shoudl walk down and go see the movie, and I would stay here and read or maybe drive over to another store and do some shopping or possibly go back to the hotel. I still really don't know what I plan to do, but I just figured maybe we each needed some time to ourselves to recharge.
It's only been about 30 minutes, but I'm already feeling more energized haha. I love him so much and I know he loves me too, but alone time is sometimes the best time ever. Especially when there are constantly small children needing something.
Plus, he has been so great about making this trip all about me and what I want to do because it's my birthday trip, and I really appreciate that. He's the best. Really the best. And I'm so grateful for family to watch our kids and give us this time away.
So I guess this long post doesn't have a huge point, other than I was reflecting on the differences between us 3 years ago and us now. Some things have changed and some things have not. But overall, everything has been great and I can't wait to see how different (or the same) we are in the next 50 years!
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| My Best Friend & Me :) |
