Gotta Get Away

I’m embarrassed to go out in public with Miles right now. No, it’s not the tantrums over the car seat (this week). It’s his face. The kid looks like he was dragged under a bus for several blocks. But who wouldn’t, after a week like his.

The first boo-boo happened last Thursday, when he was running down the sidewalk, tripped, and fell face-first onto the pavement. Poor guy. He shook it off pretty quickly, though. Then there was the split lip and bloody nose from when he was racing to the front door to watch the recycling truck go by and he tripped and fell face-first onto the kitchen floor. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: thank god for popsicles. Or “pockapoos” as Miles calls them. But the most facially disfiguring injury is the rug burn that goes across one eye and down to his cheek. I can’t say exactly how that one happened, since I wasn’t here.

See, C. and I went away for an entire weekend, BY OURSELVES. How did we pull off such a feat, you might ask? It was made possible by my lovely and wonderful SIL, who offered to come take care of Miles. (Of course, that was before she knew what time he wakes up on Saturday mornings!)

The weekend away at a B&B was my Christmas present. And before you start thinking, “Wow, what a thoughtful and romantic gift! I’m so jealous. I wish my lame-o, good-for-nothing husband would plan a weekend getaway instead of giving me kitchen appliances with the price tags still attached” -- let me assure you it was all MY idea. I gave C. subtle hints like, “Don’t even THINK about getting me anything for Christmas except a weekend away” and “If you care about our marriage at ALL, you will plan a romantic weekend away for us.”

That said, what he came up with was even better than I’d imagined. We stayed at the Lake Pointe Inn B&B on Deep Creek Lake, Md. The place was GORGEOUS and the food was PHEMONEMAL and I will stop gushing about it in ALL CAPS so you won’t hate me. But can I just tell you, our room had a hot tub and fireplace in it. (When I described it to my friend T. she remarked -- totally inappropriately in front of my parents, I might add -- “Ah, so maybe there will be another baby soon!” God help us!!)

I thought I would miss Miles like crazy, but you know what? I didn’t. I knew he was in good hands with my SIL. And he didn’t even cry when we left. He was all, “Bye, guys! See ya!” and ran off to play with his trains.

With Miles out of my hair and off my mind (mostly), I was able to focus on the OTHER guy in my life. You know, the one who steals the covers at night and forgets to load the dishwasher? The one with whom I have such meaningful conversations as, “Did you pay the phone bill yet” and “Can you please remember to empty the friggin’ diaper pail before the stench infiltrates the entire house?!”

C. and I actually talked about music and work and other non-Miles-related topics. We slept late, read, watched entire movies, and ate meals that didn’t come from Trader Joe’s frozen food aisle. We even went skiing, something we had never done together. I remembered all the reasons why I liked my husband before he was my husband and the father of my child. C. is actually quite smart and funny when he’s not stressed out and sleep deprived. Who knew? Not to mention, he looks pretty damn cute zipping down the slopes in his ski gear.

In fact, the only time we really missed Miles was on the chairlift when we saw these little kids whizzing down the mountain on tiny skis. “How fun will it be to take him skiing?” we said. “He would love it.” Plus, it will provide the opportunity for all new sorts of facial injuries. Bonus!

TIP O’ THE WEEK: Spend on experiences rather than things. Things get lost, broken, or lose value. Experiences like travel, concerts, lessons, etc., on the other hand, ADD value and make for lifelong memories.