As Eric was packing for his four day excursion into the exciting land of e-learning training, I was struck by the ease with which he is able to leave for extended periods of time with little to no effect on the household.  Sure, they notice that he’s gone at night and wax poetically about all of the fun things Daddy would do with them if he were home.  But, realistically, we go about business as usual.

Me?  I can’t go out to dinner without peeling a crying child off of me first and shutting the door to cries of, “Mommy! Don’t go!!”

This is a rather unfortunate issue since one of my goals that I would like to accomplish in the next 8 weeks before I add another clingy one to my life is a couple days free of children. 

The thought of Eric sitting in a hotel room with nothing but peace, quiet and an internet accessible laptop with him is enough to make me green with envy.  Sure he’s there for “work,” but once those 8-4 hours are completed, he is left with pure, sweet freedom.  Fortunately the thought of me having to actually do the work that is involved in getting this grand reward, (i.e. traveling by myself to strange small towns, speaking in front of new people, doing anything unfamiliar and or/uncomfortable…) is enough to take the edge off the jealousy, but it still leaves the fantasy!

Oh, what would I do with a full nights sleep?  A quiet evening to myself?  A free “expanded” continental breakfast? Or, dare I say it, room service??

I tell you what I’d do; I’d suck up every last minute of the blissful luxury and come back a happier, refreshed mommy who had enough time missing her kids to remember how to fully enjoy them again.

Perhaps with this fourth and final labor and delivery I’ll use my most painful contractions as leverage to rework my Mommy contract so that it includes a travel clause …even if travel doesn’t take me further than the next city over!