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My husband and I did something we've never done before -- we experienced a staycation while our kids spent a week with family. This was somewhat of a last minute plan but it was great nonetheless!
Like so many other families, all of our extended family live out-of-state. The closest family members reside about 5 hours from us. Unless our kids coincidently have plans at the same time, my husband and I rarely, if ever, have our house to ourselves. This last week was a treat for our children and us.
Our kids had a wonderful time with family -- they kept busy and made two stops in two different cities while away. We received frequent updates on their experiences. They shopped, swam, went to a museum, baked, the list goes on. Our children loved it!
Full disclosure, my husband and I savored this time, too. Although we worked during the day, in the evenings we completed a few projects in the new house in record time; we ate at our favorite restaurants that our kids turn their noses up to and we dined at a place we've been eager to try.
In the evenings, we watched movies, went on walks together or just sat and talked to each other without frequent interruptions. We went to bed when we wanted to and didn't spend a lot of time tidying the house or picking-up their messes. (We only had to run the dishwasher ONCE all week!)
It was lovely and I think all parents should consider doing something like this. Our three children are at the ages where being away is something they can handle emotionally. It's taken us years to get to this point-- we've been at this parenting gig for more than 14 years -- but it was worth the wait. We've already discussed doing something like this again next summer.
My message to parents out there -- plan a staycation! You'll relax, recharge and rediscover why you truly love spending time with your spouse!