At this time tomorrow I will be on an airplane about 30 minutes from landing in New York City.  When John returned from deployment in December he encouraged me to take some time and do a weekend trip to visit some dear college girlfriends.  It took a little longer to plan than anticipated, but I am finally headed to the land of martinis and shopping and friends and small walk-up apartments.  I.can't.wait.  Bonus that I am not going in the middle of summer.  Because while cute apartments are charming, their lack of air conditioning isn't.

They say that when you have kids that things that used to be a chore (grocery shopping solo) become a vacation (seriously, grocery shopping is totally a vacation!).  I feel the same way about tomorrow's flight.  I am looking forward to grabbing a coffee at the airport shop, sitting in the waiting area alone, reading my book, and just taking a deep breath.  I might even smile at the TSA Agent.

This will be my first night away from my family since August of last year when I went to a wedding.  And as much as I love my family, I need this time.  I will miss them so incredibly much.  But I also miss my friends, I miss sleep, and I miss conversations with women that don't start with "how old are your kids"?  This is not to say that I don't absolutely adore my local friends and their kids, but there is something refreshing about visiting my friends who have a totally different life.  They live alone, they get dressed up for work in the morning and hit the NYC pavement, and they won't be asking me about potty training or sleep regression.  If they do, they will just get this...

   
I know that by the time Sunday rolls around I will be missing Kate, Connor, and Johnny so much that every minute of the flight will drag by.  It is good to miss those we love sometimes.  To get some time to exercise a different part of our self and come back refreshed.  Maybe I am trying to assuage the mommy guilt (I mean, who leaves their kids for two and a half days? **clutches pearls**) but I really do feel like this will be a good weekend for my overall mental health.

Wish me luck with fitting in with the cooler kids for a few days.  I'll let you know about my adventures in the big apple on Monday!

Edited to add:  My sweet hubby reminded me of that pesky kid free trip to France I took last November.  So this is the first trip away from kids AND hubby since August of last year.  Because, ya know, we also need a break from our spouses every once in awhile ;).