Good For You

I recently went on a trip with friends far away from home. For 9 days. No kids. No husband. Just me and two of my closest friends traveling together on a trip that came up to do as a truly “once in a lifetime” opportunity. 

It was a fantastic adventure and life experience that I will always treasure. I have lots of reflections about the vacation (cultural, societal, parenting, etc.), but one thing I found interesting was when telling people about this “solo” trip was the response, “Good for you!”

Truly that was the phrase I was met with most from family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Thinking about it I don’t know if it is like, “Good for you for giving yourself permission to get away!” or “Good for you, you can let go!” or “Good for you, can I come with?!” 

I was an anxious mess the day before and on the departure date. Cognitively I knew everything would be fine - I have a capable husband and family nearby if needed. But physiologically my body and anxiety was saying, “You have NEVER been away from your partner or kids for this long EVER. In your life. Now let’s ponder all the things that could go wrong.” But I needed to quiet that part of my brain and get on the plane… and I was able to do that. 

So you know what - good for me and all of us parents working on letting go, taking the opportunity to go do the thing, and being a person away from the role of parent, caregiver, and partner. I got to see a different side of myself that was maybe kind of dormant for a while? A part of my brain that is always ticking to be ready for the next thing was able to just stop. I felt like I was able to be present in where I was and what I was doing in a way that I haven’t been able to since, honestly, I don’t remember when. I think that is the opportunity travel can provide - to gain different perspectives and reflect on life at home with some space. 

I was very happy to return home and see my people, and I am now hoping to do a big anniversary trip with my husband in a few years. But my words of advice from this experience are (very cliche) to do the thing, however big or small, and take the opportunity to wake up that “solo” side of yourself - especially if you feel like it has been asleep for a while. My brain is back to ticking along but I am hopeful to set up more breaks for it to stop in the future - and to not wait over 10 years!

Last note: This will be my last Parent to Parent Blog. I have enjoyed writing these posts to share my reflections on parenting and prevention information over the past 4 years. I am so thankful for the delightful emails I have received in response to posts and am grateful to every reader that took the time to read these thoughts and little slices of life. 

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and safe yet adventurous summer!