A night away
A couple weekends ago our son had his first sleep over at my parent's house. In preparation for his first night away I eagerly stocked his overnight bag with everything necessary to take care of him for a solid week. Then I called my mother and meticulously went over a rough schedule with her. Since my mother has successfully raised four children and helped raise several subsequent grandchildren, all of this was more about giving me piece of mind then out of necessity. As I placed his elephant slippers and bathrobe in his bag I was a mix of emotions. I was worried about our first night away from each other and yet I was really looking forward to it. I wasn't afraid anything bad would happen, rather I knew how much I would miss him.
Even though my son is still very young I find myself needing to step back to allow him to grow. For instance, when he inadvertently pushes a toy away I need to allow him to stretch, wiggle and roll toward his toy rather than picking it up and handing it to him. In this same vein, I need to allow others (ie. my parents) to have time to enjoy him as much as I do. Even after a couple hours away from him, I find myself feeling recharged. To have an entire twenty four hours away felt downright luxurious. During our time away Cameron and I dined out with friends and then went to Phantom of the Opera. In the morning, my husband and I went running together and then went to brunch at the Salish Lodge.
This time away from our son felt odd and yet strangely familiar. I had not been away from Jasper for that long since he was born. I enjoyed not worrying about being woken up in the middle of the night and being able to focus my attention on my husband rather than having my attention divided. It was a good reminder of the importance of putting my marriage first and children second. Children, particularly little ones have a lot of needs, but it was refreshing to step back into that familiar space of it being just the two of us.
On the drive to pick up our son we were eager to see his sweet little face again. Once the car was parked we literally ran to greet him. As we held him in our arms and smothered him with kisses I am certain he was thinking "what is the big deal?", but a successful first night away has me dreaming of future adventures for Cameron and I. I am endlessly grateful for parents who are willing to watch our son while we go and play. They seem to have so much fun with Jasper it makes me eager for the next phase of life- grandparenthood.
