A night off

Last Sunday afternoon, I went to Portland.  By myself.  For the night.

No really.  Last Sunday afternoon, I went to Portland by myself for the night.

My sweet husband had not only given me the coffee gift card for Christmas but had given me a "certificate" for a night away.  Best gift EVER.

Of course my husband knows that I talk about having a night away to relax but then I can never ever bring myself to do it because I miss my family too much.  So, he finally convinced me and off I went.  I also had a massage/facial groupon from forever ago that I never had a chance to use so after checking in at the hotel, I went to my spa appointments.  Amazing. 

I was starving so I went to grab some takeout at what my husband knows is my love language....Cheesecake Factory.  Fried mac and cheese, baja tacos and chocolate cheesecake?  Yes please.  I stuffed, and I mean, stuffed my face full of food while watching the Oscars and it was wonderful.  I relaxed with my laptop and browsed the cable channels.  I seriously don't think I had a coherent thought for at least two hours and it was bliss.

And then I slept.  Uninterrupted.  And when I woke up at 8:30, I went back to sleep for another hour.

I showered and lazed around, finally checking out around 11:15.  I grabbed a coffee, hit a few Goodwills, shopped the Outlets, and ate a long, relaxing lunch at Paneras before heading home around 3.

It's funny because in my head I was expecting this "getaway" to be this amazing, ridiculously relaxing experience.  And if I'm honest, it wasn't this life-changing, now I can be super-mom, kind of moment.  But it WAS a much needed breath of fresh air.  A chance to have a few moments of me-time, and a chance to sleep.  And one of my favorite parts was just blasting a good worship song in the car, enjoying a long drive in the sun by myself.

Peter, thank you for this thoughtful, thoughtful gift.  You always take such good care of your family and good care of me as the mother of your kids and as your wife.  You have totally figured out that if you give me 8 hours of sleep and a slice of cheesecake, I'll be your BFF for life :-)