It’s taken 5 years and 8 months…and 3 aborted attempts…but me and MrSpud finally got away for a WHOLE 24 hours without our children this weekend. First attempt was thwarted by my aunt having a stroke and I had to dash up north to sort things out for her. Second attempt thwarted by snow. Third attempt thwarted by a vomiting bug. Fourth attempt was attempted very, very half heartedly to be honest but (despite a disturbed night with Diggy which threatened a Fourth Thwart) we made it.
And..oh…the..JOY! It was only 24 hours but it was just the ticket. We don’t even go out much together, and long hours and a long commute mean we really don’t spend much time together at all. Cry. We’ll have been together 10 years later this year, 5 years 8 months of those have involved children. It’s a long time not to really ‘be’ together.
“So, how’ve you been?”, I asked my husband of getting of for 7 years over lunch. “Yes, good thanks. Had a couple of kids, been pretty busy”, he replied. We agreed, kindly, that we’ve both aged a bit but that it’s been worth it. We hardly talked about the boys, though we talked about topics around the boys and parenting. I didn’t miss them, though I thought about them a bit. MrSpud missed them. But I spent EVERY minute of their non-school/nursery time with them and MrSpud has precious few hours with them.
MrSpud…carrier of heavy camera bags and {scream} bumbags/fanny packs. Oh lord.
We didn’t do a whole lot. We pottered around Stamford, a stupidly beautiful town, and had lunch.
Here I am, looking cross and very awkward in front of the camera as usual.
MrSpud, looking a bit windswept and, oh look, carrying The Camera Bag again.
Then we pootled back to our hotel
And I gave myself up to the charms of an Indian Head Massage, a much appreciated gift from my mother-in-law. The woman is a SAINT! Not only did she look after the Megaboys for the weekend, she sorted out our hotel and booked me a head massage. I’m so lucky. Though I did ‘slightly’ query whether a relaxing massage is supposed to include earlobe pulling and being repeatedly beaten around the head? Let’s move on.
Dinner, a full night’s sleep with NO CHILDREN in the bed, a swim in the spa and it was time to give up the hotel gorgeousness. We went to Uppingham for lunch and marvelled at how public schoolboys look *exactly* the same as they did in 1989 when we were at school. Then, all too soon, it was time to make our way back to collect the boys….stopping off at Eyebrook Resevoir for a blustery photoshoot.
Rather different than the last time we were here, on Christmas Day last year
And then it was done. Our first 24 hours together, no children, in many many years. I loved it. I loved talking about everything and nothing, no eye on the clock or being driven by what the boys need or want. I don’t think we’ve spent more than a very, very occasional 3 or 4 hours together and alone since Bertie was born. We love our family life and haven’t really ‘craved’ time alone because we adore our boys so, so much and the life we have together. But it was good to get away and remember how we got to be where we are today.
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