Charleston, Take Two

This, dear readers, is a do-over.

Soon after we moved back to East Tennessee from Texas my best friend, Karin, and I ran off to Isle of Palms for a much-needed break from reality. She was newly single again and I had spent two years living away from her while she muddled through a big life change. The trip was going to be only three days (when three weeks would’ve been better), but we were going to enjoy every second of it. However, about 12 hours into the trip, we were rudely interrupted by human forces beyond our control and that sent the trip into a tailspin of emotions. I’ll save you the details but instead say that while Charleston and Isle of Palms are beautiful, the trip was overshadowed by a dark cloud.

So, we’re going to give it another try.

Rarely am I away from my children. My entire life is set up around them, which is intentional and what I have chosen, but sometimes I really, really need to go to a restaurant and order only for myself. I need to drive somewhere in a car and not answer questions from someone in the back seat. I need to go to sleep and wake up with no one else’s schedule in mind but my own. On the surface, it sounds very self-centered, but every mother knows that there comes a moment when you take your children by the hand, look into their sweet innocent eyes, and say, “I love you dearly, but I really need to miss you for a minute.”

Chuck and I are great tag-team parents, affording one another time here, or time there. But on the whole, the day-to-day care-taking sits on my shoulders, and that is particularly true for Karin and her children. So, with that in mind, we are running away for a few days in an attempt to recharge our brains and recapture what we tried to accomplish two years ago.

For what it’s worth, I do not worry one bit about Chuck’s ability to care for the boys while I’m gone.

The dog, however, is another story.

P.S. Dear ocean, I’m coming. See you soon. XOXO