The Importance of Taking Time

Mollie writes:

A friend of mine is spending the weekend with me while our husbands are out sailing the San Juans.  We were going to sail with them, but then the gale warnings and small craft advisories were posted, and in her rational way, Joan decided, with me, to stay on land  and "do the spas."

Joan and I have known each other for over 30 years.  Our cumulative litters are raised and the four of us are enjoying a nice retirement.  Our husbands have been friends since high school and that was a LONG time ago.  Doing the spas is a no brainer, we had manicures yesterday and will do pedicures today.  Lord knows what we will do tomorrow.

Thursday, we saw "Sex and the City II," and I beg to differ, it was a WONDERFUL movie - as long as you didn't expect "Avatar" or "The Hurt Locker."  Sometimes we just need 2 hours and 27 minutes of corny one-liners with a gay wedding thrown in.  We got what we paid for and that was just fine.

One of the sub-plots of the movie was Charlotte's problem with taking time from the kids.  The children were both pre-schoolers and very high needs were waiting to be met.  Even with a full time nanny, Charlotte wasn't happy with how things were going.

In the usual superficial way SATC handles things, Charlotte learned that maybe a day or two off every so often is just what the doctor ordered.  We don't all have nannies or friends with a pied-a-terre in New York City to host us for a time off, but the practical lesson is still there - mom needs to air out every so often.

Millie and I know to take a breather every so often.  It was tough, tough, tough when the kids were small, but as mine got older (grade and middle-school) I'd take a weekend off with friends and go see beautiful downtown Beaverton, a lovely suburb of Portland, where we were raising our kids.  When 4 chicks share the cost of the hotel suite, one drives, etc. a weekend away can almost be financially doable.

So, toss aside those apprehensions and party with the girls every so often.  It nurtures "The Mothers' Underground" as much as the soul.  It's nice to unload about schools, fast-food and loneliness.   A weekend with your spouses making the PB&J sandwiches for the kidlets is wonderful revenge when that same spouse just spent two weeks in Paris, without you.

And never apologize for it!