Last night I had a wonderful reprieve from 24/7 mothering. I love my kiddos to death but a girl just has to get out from time to time. Richard agreed to arrive at work by 6:00 am and come home by 2:00 pm so that I could have a wild night on the town (hahahah). My step sister Ashlee, who lives about 90 minutes away, drove over to stay for a few days and we hit the road at 3:00 to go shopping at Tyson's Corner. It was raining and foggy but the weather didn't dampen my spirits. The last time I was in a mall without the kids was in January.
It was so great to just pop into a store here and there and try on some new things without wondering which clothing rack Kaley was hiding under or trying to predict the number of minutes left until Connor's tolerance for the stroller would hit zero. I could relax in the fitting room instead of racing to make a decision. What a breeze of fresh air.
We ate at California Pizza Kitchen, one of my favorite restaurants, and gabbed as only girls can. We took our time with the food and not once during the meal did I have to pick food out of someone's hair, search for lost crayons under the table or try to save flatware from certain destruction. After dinner we watched Sunshine Cleaning at the theater...a Shelly speed movie with zero scenes of frenetic violence.
I had a blast just hanging out with Ashlee. She kept me laughing the whole evening. A pair of stonewashed jeans with tapered leg and zippers at the bottom had us reminiscing about the 80's and questioning who on earth would want to bring that back.
As we walked back to her car I was surprised to realize that I was missing my babies. I knew that Richard would be giving them their bath. Kaley would be begging for once last sip of juice and Connor fighting his exit from the tub. I realized that though I needed time away I would always need to come back more.