Away Time
pamelamyers | June 1, 2012
I had wanted to plan something special for Mark’s 40th birthday this year but it was really hard to figure out what to do. Finally, I settled on a nice weekend away, just the two of us. I had to ask Mark for his input since I am probably the worst planner/gift giver ever, but we decided on 2 nights away at Eagles Mere, PA, which is a town past Wilkes Barre, basically in the middle of nowhere. Mark’s parents stayed there once and liked it, and it is not far from Rickett’s Glen State Park, home of 20+ waterfalls. Mark and I both love waterfalls, and hiking, and the quiet, so we decided to go. We couldn’t get a reservation on a weekend, so we went on a Monday and Tuesday night right after Mark’s birthday. It was the first time we have ever left Samantha for more than one night, and we have always been literally 10 minutes away from her.
First, I guess I should say we did have an amazing time. It was so nice for Mark and I to get away, alone, just us, as a couple. But, of course, we missed our little girl so much and we talked about her non-stop. I have found that it is almost impossible to stop talking about her no matter how hard we try to just be “us” for a while. We are so immersed in being her parents, and loving being her parents, that it is hard not to think about her and talk about her all the time. When I dropped her off at my parents’ house on Monday morning, she knew something was up. It was pretty early, but not as early as a usual workday, so she knew something was going on. It took a really long time to get out of their house since Sam was really upset and was crying like mad. I don’t know how they know that things are different, but kids always do. I finally just had to leave, and it killed me, but what could I do? I didn’t tell her I wasn’t coming back that night because I didn’t think she’d understand, or, worse, she would, and she would really freak out. I called my mom at least once a day to check on Sam and she was ok. My mom said that she wanted to go home a bunch of times and had to be told I was at work, but overall, she was ok. I was so happy to see our little munchkin when we got back!
The next day, and the following week, when I went to work were brutal. Sam cried and clinged to me like crazy every day. Finally, after about 3 days of this, I sat down with her in the morning and asked her, “Sam, do you not want to go see Grandmom and Poppy because you think Mommy is going to go away again?” and her sad little face said “Yes”. I felt so bad. I told her that I was sorry I didn’t explain to her that I would be going away but that it would not happen again. I promised to tell her if Mommy and Daddy were going to leave her overnight at Grandmom’s house. As soon as I said that, she was all ready to go! So…lesson learned. Don’t try to put one over on your 2 year old because they know.
At any rate, it worked out fine and Sam was happy and Mark and I had a wonderful time. Here are just a few pics from our little getaway.
