Give a little, get a little

So I did it! I successfully went on vacation and left my two kiddos. And believe it or not, I actually had a nice time. I missed them so much, even ventured on the side of obsessed with the amount of times I looked at their pictures and talked about them.

The day we left both kids had fevers, were crying and giving off signals that our departure was a bad idea. I gave my parents every possible tool to be successful with two sick kids, including a typed up detailed manual describing the care necessary for these rugrats. I debated leaving and even tried changing our tickets but ultimately moved forward and took the plunge. And as I was leaving I even felt ill about if I had made the right decision.

Fortunately the kids’ health seemed to improve almost instantaneously after we left, do you think it was their ploy to have us stay? My parents’ ability to care for them was so impressive. Of course they have both raised children before, but never my children and never at this point in their lives. Maybe they sugar coated their stories, maybe they left out the hiccups but when we came home everything seemed under control! Of course not every detail of my manual was followed exactly and not everything was done as I would have, but it was handled and handled well! And the real amazing part was that the more I checked in and noted how well things were going at home, the more I could relax and enjoy the vacation.

The vacation was so fun – we ate long leisurely meals, we slept late and went to bed late, we did all the things that you can’t do when crazy little kidlets are around. Through it all, all the fun and relaxation, the best part of the trip though was walking into the door after being away. The excitement and affection our kids gave us was so great and made it all worthwhile. We spent the next day at home just the four of us, catching up on lost time. In order to leave, I had to let go a little but in the end I still managed to get back so much more, maybe that should be a life lesson I take moving forward.