The Work It, Mom! Blog
with Nataly
Hi, I am Nataly and I am the co-founder of Work It, Mom!
I write the daily Work It, Mom! Blog where I talk about issues affecting working moms, goings on in our Work It, Mom! community, new site features, updates,and contests. I also share my own juggle between work and family and love to see members jump in with comments. Come and visit often!
Nataly's profile on Work It, Mom!
I’ll just get right to the point:
My husband and I just returned from a 9-day trip to Berlin and Prague… during which our daughter was being spoiled silly by my mom and my grandparents and becoming an amphibian by spending hours swimming at the beach. Yes, this is the “make you jealous” part: We a vacation by ourselves, no kids involved.
I won’t lie, it was pure heaven. It’s been a really tough year on many fronts and both of us really needed a break and some time to just hang out with each other, without our work or laptops nearby. (This is a good time to mention my heroic achievement during the vacation — no Internet, no work, no checking emails, zero. I doubted very much that I could actually pull this off before we left but I realized just how much I needed to disconnect as soon as we stepped into our beautiful hotel room in the center of Berlin.) Our trip was amazing on every front and the entire time I kept thinking about how lucky we are to be able to do this, to have family with whom we can leave our kiddo knowing that she is happy and well taken care of. I didn’t take a minute of the trip for granted.
Coming home and heading to work just a few hours later was… ugh, kind of awful. It’s now been a day and I already feel like our vacation was years ago. But I think it’s just my bitter reaction to 100s of emails that still sit unanswered and too much work that’s gathered while I was away and is now waiting to be done. Taking a real, adult, kids-free vacation was completely awesome and I’ve got a whole new reserve of energy to use for the insanity that’s heading our way come Monday.
Have you taken a vacation without your kids? Do you try to do it regularly? Any guilt involved or pure pleasure?
Subscribe to blog via RSS
I haven’t taken a vacation without the kid yet - he’s only 9 months old - but I plan to. My parents used to take one vacation a year or without my sister and me, and my husband and I would like to do the same.
-R- | August 31st, 2009 at 7:49 am
I haven’t yet, but my daughter is only 20 months and there’s time yet. I think it’s wonderful that you are able to do something like this financially, and yes, have the emotional support that you need. Glad you enjoyed yourself.
Colleen | August 31st, 2009 at 7:52 am
Eh, our son is only 11 months. Heck, I know how much guilt and planning it took for hubby and I to go on a sailboat race a couple weekends ago - and we were gone for less than 8 hours! I imagine at some point/hope at some point that it becomes a possibility though, and I think its wonderful that you and your hubby had a vacation to yourselves :-).
CV | August 31st, 2009 at 10:51 am
You are right, I am jealous
Glad that you had great vacation. We have not taken one without kids just because my younger one is still small and our family is not close to us. May be when they are around we will try!
Lakshmi | August 31st, 2009 at 11:14 am
We took one vacation without kids - a 4-day weekend for our anniversary. It was great.
Am SO glad you got away!! Please ignore my messages/direct tweets from last week! No need to add to your Monday stress.
Lee | August 31st, 2009 at 11:17 am
I’d settle for a vacation with kids right now. I don’t yearn to get away from my kids. I think that if I went anywhere without them, I’d spend the whole time wishing they were there to see the wonders and what-not. I guess I’m different because I had 20 years of child-free adulthood before my kids came along. I did my fair share of carefree travel, and now I just can’t wait to share that world with the girls.
My parents never vacationed without us either. I remember once when my mom went to Vegas with a friend, and sometimes my dad got away overnight for a hunting trip, but that’s about all. Maybe they would have liked to go off as a couple - but then again, their leisure interests weren’t all that compatible. Whatever their reasons, that may be why I don’t picture myself “getting away from it all” while my kids are young.
SKL | August 31st, 2009 at 2:14 pm
We’re taking our first kidless trip this weekend, and although it’s semi-terrifying, I’m also convinced that it’s going to be great for all three of us (not to mention Gramma, who will get to babysit). We’ll only be an hour away and we’ll only be gone for about 24 hours, but the thought of enjoying a night away, just him and me, and being able to sleep in, eat a meal uninterrupted, and spend time with friends without all conversation turning to the baby…this is all very, very good. I think there will be some guilt involved (the kid is All About Mommy these days, and he STILL doesn’t really take a bottle), but I have no doubt that this will do us all a world of good.
Leah K | September 1st, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I get a kick out of people who feel that taking a vacation sans kids is such a treat. I plan all our family trips and we ALWAYS take my son.
My son is now six, and I have to say that I have an absolute blast everytime we vacation. In the last year we’ve been to Banff Canada, Los Angeles, Yosemite and San Francisco. When he was four (before real school when we could travel off season) we crossed the Atlantic on a cruise (treated my parents for their 50th anniversary) stopping at Bermuda, Ireland, Paris and Mont St.Michel. He loved the kids club on the ship. We’ve also been to Disneyland and Legoland several times, we’ve gone on a cruise to Mexico, we’ve gone skiing and we went to the Mediterranean stopping in Spain, France and Italy (Rome was DA BOMB) and to Washington DC to visit his cousins and say goodbye to Bush. We’ve also been to Maui, Lanai, Kauai and the Big Island (we live on Oahu) many times for weekenders (two outer islands a year). Our first trip with him was to Lanai when my son was a month old. He’s also been camping at the beach a number of times because that’s where you camp in Hawaii. Needless to say, my son is an excellent traveller because he’s gone everywhere with us.
All you have to do is plan the vacations that YOU want to take. Go to places YOU want to go to, and find fun activities for your children for their age. We hiked in Banff but I would not have planned that trip a year earlier because my son wouldn’t have been able to hike and river raft and canoe a year ago. We used a stroller in Europe, we ate gelato in the Cinque Terre, we climbed the Eiffel Tower stairs (my son’s idea) and walked the Coliseum. My son has stared up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and kissed the Blarney Stone. We’ve been to the Grand Casino in Monte Carlo, thrown coins in Trevi Fountain and been to the castle grounds at Eze. We’ve been to the Smithsonian, the White House and the Ben Franklin Center in Phili. We’ve watched the sunrise at Haleakala and seen the humpbacks (whales not people) off Lahaina.
My wife loves the trips I plan because I plan them with us in mind, finding activities for my son to enjoy as well. It’s all in the planning and research, it’s all in the adventure of travel. Plan well, BE FLEXIBLE, bring your kids and have the time of your life. And it’s not about spending a lot of money. We’re able to afford nice trips but camping can be as fun as Rome. REALLY it can.
We’ve done relaxing trips (try crossing the Atlantic on a cruise ship if you want to relax) and we’ve done kid trips and we’ve done active/outdoor trips. You just have to FIND the adventures and you’ll have a great vacation WITH your kids.
Glenn | September 1st, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I’d be positively green if it wasn’t for the fact that, after 4.5 years, the hubby and I took our first night away from the kids this summer. It was perfect and I know that someday, when everything lines up right, we will be able to take a whole vacation.
Congrats to you two for getting away!!
Mandy Nelson | September 2nd, 2009 at 6:20 am