It’s Good To Get Away
“To get away….”
Get. Away.
What do those words mean to you?
When we were planning our little family getaway earlier this month, I was looking for some time to get away.
Sure, I have a beautiful, new home to enjoy. A loving husband to connect and laugh with. An adorable child who wants to play and cuddle. A great job that brings me stability and purpose.
The reason for this escape was more to create mental space. My head was full. I needed to dump it out. Like take my to-do list and literally burn it for the week. Hah. Kind of an intense visual but I was feeling pretty burnt out.
After such a busy summer moving, running a wellness retreat and working full time with little to no time off, I was more than ready to completely disconnect and be out in nature. Truly, I am happiest outside.
Sam and I sort of just kept running and running all summer (minus a little 3-day Cape getaway literally during escrow where we had to buy a printer to mail paperwork, lol) so we knew it was time to shut things down. (I’m usually really good about taking time off, but something about this last year working from home has made me really bad at it. 😬)
READ: Tips for Moving with a Toddler on Central Mass Mom
Anyway, a trip was needed. We didn’t care really where we were going. It just needed to happen.
We picked early-ish October because, um, the foliage! And, it meant our getaway would fall right around my birthday which sounded kinda nice. Who doesn’t like having their birthday off? (Yup, I’m that girl.)
We picked out a lovely Airbnb in New Hampshire with two bedrooms, huge windows, and right on the lake that would suit our family of three just right. Plenty of space for Henry to run around, close(ish) to the mountains and all the amentites to make big, warm breakfasts and lounge the nights away in cozy socks.
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Side note: The two bedrooms were a must for us after a hilarious (I can say that now) one-night hotel stay in September. Henry could not fall alseep with us in the same room. (He’s slept in his own room since 6 months.) He thought it was so fun to be up and running around in an unusual space. He’d race toward the hotel door, unlock it and run out into the parking lot. Over and over again. A chair had to get wedged there. We ended up renting a porter crib, thinking that would help, but he crawled out of it. The night ended after 10pm with us “fake sleeping” so he’d crash in the bed with me. Pure exhaustion. I slept like crap trying to make sure he wouldn’t fall off the bed and with his body constantly repositioning throughout the night.
Needless to say, never again… We’d need two bedrooms moving forward. 😂
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Back to our vacation…
Our Airbnb in Tilton, NH was perfect. I immediately felt a sense of calm there and absolutely loved the crisp mountain vibes from the upper-level apartment. It was remote yet only 5 minutes into town. You’d never know.
One afternoon, we had a hilarious moment at the local Tilt’n Diner. It was getting close to Henry’s naptime. He was hangry (so were we) and we ordered an embarassing amount of food around 1pm. I’m talking malt shakes, corn fritters with maple mustard, and three full meals. Henry’s eyes popped when he saw my shake in an orange glass bowl. His little hands immediately grabbed it from my corner of the table and he started slurping it down like an animal. Ice cream everywhere. Such a hot mess. 😂 Then, he went on to eat bits of his hotdog and fistfuls of Sam’s plated fries to shove down his mouth.
A nap was needed after all the craziness. For us all.
The rest of our getaway was spent hanging out, hiking the Flume, going to Storyland (which Henry loved), checking out the dock/lake and eating — of course. I somehow didn’t check my work email once (a record for me!) and even kept off social media and my laptop in general most of the week. It felt like a true vacation. Nothing to do but be.
People aren’t kidding, though, when they say vacations are far different with a kid. They’re more of a… trip, let’s say. 😆 Much more to pack, plan, coordinate around and consider. Like, how to carry Henry up a mountain should he decide not to walk.
He decided not to walk… (Thank goodness for baby/toddler carriers and teamwork.)
Oh, and then there’s…
How to keep him napping in the car. Keep driving.
How to get him milk ASAP. Drive-thru Dunkins.
How to keep him busy. Bring toys.
How to get him bathed in a standing shower. Get wet.
You parents get it.
It’s a constant juggle of all the things.
But when I look back now, and I see the colors of the trees and relive the moments by the lake, it was really just what we needed.
I was able to stay present in those little moments. It’s sometimes hard to do when you’re thinking ahead to the next meal or a planning tomorrow’s outing. But in order to really enjoy your getaway, you gotta. You gotta get still.
It’s almost like a moving meditation. You see your awareness drift. You bring it back, and savor the moment. Over and over again. All day. Until you’re just so grateful for it all.
Because, why would you want it to be any other way?
