If you were looking for me on Saturday morning, you would have found me flying on the highway through Indiana, singing “I’m arrivin’ on a sin wagon” along with the Dixie Chicks. I was leaving my babies for the weekend, for the first time ever. (Staying in the hospital to have a second baby doesn’t count!) I had a stack of CD’s next to me and a cooler full of limes and margaritas in the back. I was on my way to Michigan to celebrate my cousin Alicia’s 30th birthday.

Alicia had planned this trip for her friends as a get-away. A get-away from the city; from work, from kids (and husbands!) She rented a house in the country and invited us to stay with her.

When I arrived around noon, it was hot and humid. Everyone was relaxing; sprawled out in chairs reading; paddling the canoe; and napping in the sun. I took a raft out on the pond and paddled around, lying back to look at the sun filtering through the tree tops. I felt like the women in Enchanted April.

The pond behind our rented house in the country

That night, we built a campfire and roasted marshmallows. We told embarrassing stories and laughed with each other while drinking margaritas and sangria and wine. No one jumped up to listen intently to the baby monitor, or ran inside to see if the girls were warm enough, or stopped at just one drink. No one, meaning me!

The next day, after a leisurely morning, my sister Heather and I went to the outlet mall. I found myself wondering, “Will the fitting rooms have enough room for the stroller?”

As I started the two hour drive home, I felt a quick stab of guilt. Had I shopped too long? Should I have started out earlier in the morning instead of the late afternoon? Nah.

I got home around dinnertime. Ed had had a wonderful time with the girls. He had started the weekend with the mindset that he wasn’t going to get anything done; he was just going to have fun with his girls. And boy, did they ever have fun! They went to the park, the pool, and out for pizza!

When deciding on whether or not I was going to accept Alicia’s invitation, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be away from my daughters. In the end, we all had a wonderful, rejuvenating couple of days.

Thanks, Alicia, for the great weekend! Oh, yeah…HAPPY BIRTHDAY!