The other night, I was talking to one of my husband’s friends in the hotel bar. After chatting about work, relationships and all the other good stuff, out came the inevitable question.
“So how are the kids?”
“They’re not here.”
The words just flew out of my mouth. Didn’t even hesitate for a second. And while it got a laugh, it made me think. As a proud mommy, shouldn’t I have pulled out a picture, or bragged about how smart they are?
But I didn’t. Instead, I proclaimed how happy I was to be away from them.
And while it feels wrong, deep down I know it’s healthy to want some alone time. This trip has given me plenty of chances to see what life would have been like if I’d brought the kids with us.
The other day in the elevator I saw a woman with her 4 year old daughter standing by her side and her infant son screaming in the Baby Bjorn (kinda like a kangaroo pouch).
The woman was hopping up and down furiously while her daughter kept asking, “Mommy, why is Evan crying so much?”
“Because he’s tired, sweetheart. He needs a nap.”
I looked at the poor woman. She was exhausted, frustrated and pretty much at the end of her rope.
“Have you had a chance to enjoy your vacation?” I asked her.
“Vacation? What the hell is that?”
And then, while I was waiting for my overpriced bacon and eggs at the hotel restaurant this morning, I saw another woman trying to talk her son down from a tantrum. He wasn’t quite there yet, but he was getting mighty close.
“Jeffrey. I told you. Just wait quietly and the waitress will be here soon.”
“But mommy, I’m hungry NOW!”
“Jeffrey…”
“I’M HUNGRY!”
The woman picked up the kid, probably around 3 or 4, and held him right in front of her face.
“Do you want me to shake you? Do you want to be a shaken baby?”
I could barely suppress the laughter.
The woman saw me and glared, daring me to judge her.
I just smiled.
“I’ll give you the same advice my husband gave me,” I said to her. “If you’re going to do it, you better do it right.”
She laughed. The tension was broken. She gave her kid a kiss, a quick hug and set him back down on the ground.
But right after breakfast, I went upstairs and called my son. As soon as he got on the phone, he said, “I want you, Mommy.”
I almost cried.
“I want you, too, Sweetheart.”
And I did. I really, really did.
