There are days that I would give anything to be far away... far away from the stress that sometimes comes with raising two young children, the growing frustration of a job search in a region with little professional opportunity, the daily responsibilities of being an adult, of running a household.
I am not complaining (much) about these things. All the things in my life, good and bad, are of my own choosing. But that said, it is sometimes nice, even if only for a few hours, to not be a wife or a mother. Nobody climbing on my lap, wiping their boogers on my shirt or asking me to sing songs while they sit on the potty. Nobody wondering if there are clean running clothes in the house or what's for dinner. An uninterrupted adult conversation, a chance to finish a thought before I forget what it was I was thinking about in the first place.
With a few phone calls and emails, and a reservation with my friend Barb, I planned a night away.
Within days of 'booking' the trip, Groupon's Deal of the Day for the Philadelphia area (one of four regions that flood my inbox with mostly useless mail) offered a 60-minute Swedish Massage at Bella Sorrel, a day spa just down the street from Barb's house, for only $35. She and I both made the purchase! Sadly, when she called to schedule the appointment, the spa did not have two slots together, so I was FORCED to go alone. It was torture (in case Barb is reading... in reality, it was a nice start to the day and a good way to relax after the long drive). The big downside - I left feeling slimy and smelling like a stick of peppermint gum.
After a quick shower, Barb and I said good-bye to her husband and kids and took off for adult night!
The night started at a little restaurant called Los Sarapes (if you are in the Chalfont area, and you like Mexican food, go check it out), where Barb promised they served enormous margaritas. They didn't, but that is ok... I still have some not so fond memories of the last time that Barb and I were together back in July. With our kids safely tucked into bed that night, she and I drank - one of us (that would be me) way too much!
We decided to see a movie after dinner, something that neither one of us has the opportunity to do too often. There were a few movies out that we were interested in seeing and we settled on the 9:40 showing of Moneyball. What a great choice. For those who haven't seen it, the story is about Billy Beane and the 2002 Oakland A's - a team that set a MLB record for consecutive wins (at 20) but lost in the first round of the playoffs. What makes this team, and this story, so interesting though is how they did it - with statistics and economic analysis and the lowest payroll in baseball.
My favorite part of the movie came at the end... when Beane was offered $12.5 million to take over as GM of the Boston Red Sox. He turned it down, choosing to stay in Oakland. It's rare to see someone in professional sports turn down a big payday (I am thinking of Jayson Werth as I type this) . I think that's one of the reasons I still love Cliff Lee, who left millions on the table to come back to Philadelphia last year, despite what my brother has pointed out to me (though I already knew) was one of the biggest disappointments in Philadelphia sports history last month.
In between dinner and the movie, there was shopping... and even more of it on the way home when I met a friend who lives in the Hershey area for lunch and some time at the outlets. In a 24-hour span of time, I think I accomplished roughly 75% of the Christmas shopping I need to do. If only I could say that about the Shutterfly books I do for our parents each year (where I just finished uploading our pictures for 2011).
So, I returned home rested and poor, to two children who acted as though they hadn't seen me in weeks. That sure makes for a nice homecoming. I'm glad I took the trip, even if I missed out on a friend or two I would have liked to have seen. There's always next time...
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