A Romantic Getaway

The Major has been on my case for quite some time about us getting away together.  Seems like a no-brainer, right?  Why would I not jump at the chance for some time away from the kids?

Club Seats, anyone?

We have had a few “date nights” since Island Boy came home.  Not too many, but a few.  It is so helpful to have Subway Dude and The Fashionista at an age where they can watch Island Boy for a few hours.

When SD and TF were young we struggled to find babysitters.  The good ones were few and far between.  Every time we lassoed a good one, the window of opportunity to book her was small.  The “superstars” tended to be overachievers and had school commitments.  Soon, they had real jobs with real paychecks.

We didn’t go out too often back in the day.  Then suddenly, out of nowhere, Subway Dude and The Fashionista were old enough to stay home alone!  Our marital dating bliss was chugging along nicely until Island Boy arrived in dramatic fashion (see the hundreds of blog posts devoted to this subject).

Not that we wish to run away from IB.  But…

The Major has been plotting for us to get away for an overnight for months.  We found that we really needed to wait until Subway Dude’s marching band season was over.  The weekends all held commitments that required us to pick up SD late at night.  SD is useless not so great at finding rides home from school.

Thankfully, we have great, (no wait, that’s not it), fantastic, “true blue” friends who have been looking forward to spending some QT with Island Boy. This has been a topic of conversation since before IB even set foot on US soil.

This week, as a kind of a spur of the moment, we called our friends and we arranged for a sleepover.  Then the fun planning began.  The Major and I called around and found a room at The Roycroft Inn in East Aurora, New York.

Here’s a little blurb about The Roycroft Inn from their website:

In 1895 the Roycroft Arts and Crafts Community was founded in East Aurora, New York by writer-philosopher Elbert Hubbard. Based on the Medieval Guild system that was adapted by William Morris & John Ruskin in the English Arts & Crafts Movement, Hubbard developed and promoted a self-contained community which supported hundreds of craftspeople.

We had always wanted to stay there, and were excited to go.

We dropped the three kids off with our friends.  Everyone All the kids seemed very excited about the sleepover.  Island Boy seemed to understand he was staying overnight.  We were especially happy to have the older two there to keep IB comfortable.

Apparently, one of the older two said, “I guess this is a parents’ weekend.  When does it get to be a kids’ weekend?”  Gee, you’re spending the night with friends, playing Clue, staying up late, playing video games, drinking root beer.  Sounds like a kid-friendly weekend to me, but what do I know?

I have never been a parent who frets or worries about leaving her kids behind with friends or family.  The kids love spending time with friends and do well when we aren’t around.

Somehow, this time was different.  I knew IB was comfortable and safe.  I knew he was excited about being around other kids.  The Major and I were discussing this in the car on the way to East Aurora.  I said that I felt I had missed a lot of IB’s life already.  I didn’t want to miss out on any more time with him.  Then I think I really hit the nail on the head.  I told The Major that I have said goodbye to Island Boy enough times for a lifetime.

I’m not saying I’ll never be ready to say goodbye to him.  Of course he’ll go off to college.  Of course I’ll support him wherever he ultimately decides to settle and set up his life.  It’s simply that right now, when he’s a little boy, I’ve had more than enough goodbyes.

I guess I’m extra thankful that I don’t have to do drop offs every day at Pre-K.

The Major replied, “Get over it” in his special way.

The Major and I made it safely the 29 miles away to East Aurora.  We checked in and settled into our room.  It looked something like this:

We went out for an early dinner at Tantalus.  This is one of my favorite restaurants in the area.  The menu is about 16 pages long.  It’s all delicious.

We are old and went to sleep around 9:20.  That’s what happens when you are over 40 and have a toddler at home.  Early bedtimes are heavenly, in my book anyway!  I’m also pr0 “Put on PJs as soon as is humanly possible”.   The Major is anti “Put on PJs as soon as is humanly possible”.  That may be a blog topic for “Two Sides of It”.

We were up at the crack of dawn and watched an episode of “Mad Men”.  Completely decadent to watch tv in bed any day of the week.  We are a one tv family and it’s not in our bedroom.

We walked over to a small diner on Main Street for breakfast.  There was a wait of an undetermined amount of time.  The server couldn’t be bothered to tell us how long it would be.  She could have cared less about us as customers.

We headed back to The Roycroft and opted for their amazing brunch.  A few years back we treated ourselves and took the kids there for an Easter Brunch.  So good!

A mimosa for The Major and a Bloody Mary for Running Girl.  Mmmmm.

I am thankful that we actually got away from Kay Nou.  I was tempted to save the money and stay home while the kids were away.  It was much better to be away from all of the distractions of home.  We were so happy to sit around and talk and simply be together.

Picked the children up from their overnight.  Aunt Donna said she woke up thinking how awesome it was that Island Boy slept through the night without a peep.  YES!  Um, no.  Uncle Ian got up about four times with IB.  Sorry, Uncle Ian.

Home for a cozy Sunday at home with the family? Not quite.  The Major had invited me to the Bills game.  The Bills were 0 and 8, so how could I resist?

It ended up being an exciting game complete with interceptions, a pass-play that resulted in a touchdown, which was then recalled, and a close score at the end.  The Bills actually won the game.

Look at the cool sign we were given at the game! I'm not sure how the wording got backwards.

If only the fans would stop stomping their feet on the stands.  I can’t tell you have much I now despise the feeling of rolling vibrations under my feet [Insert several colorful curse words here].  Funny, I never had this sensitivity prior to January 12, 2010.

I’m happy to report that we are back home now.  Three of us are cozy in our PJs.  One is about to head upstairs for stories and songs.  Goodnight, Kay Nou!

–Running Girl

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