Getaway!

I got away this past weekend. I took to the Hill Country for an overnight with girlfriends at a dude ranch and it was fuuuun! It marked a bit of a milestone, my first overnight away from Noah. When I first learned of the gathering a few months back, I felt certain I couldn't go. Two whole nights away from my still nursing baby seemed too darn long. I let the idea percolate for many weeks, and when I learned there was a single overnight option, I realized I really wanted to do it.

My dear pal E is getting married this Fall, so the weekend was a bachelorette party of sorts. I got to meet the pretty swell gals she calls her own, and it says a lot about someone when all her friends -from childhood, even - are interesting, kind and fun. There were horses and wildflowers and cute ranch hands in chaps hungry for lady company. I reckon they tire of hoisting boy scout after sweaty boy scout on to the horses...Did I mention E's friends are all hot women in their 20s and 30s?

As I drove out on Saturday morning, listening to CDs of a band I used to enjoy seeing live in late night clubs, I felt free. I really miss that deep independence of my life pre-motherhood, being able to lose myself in a book or deep conversation, to see an activity through to the end instead of always being aware of the fleeting moments before Noah awakens or cries out for me from the backyard sandbox. And I miss turning the music up loud!

All told, I was gone just 30 hours or so, long enough to recharge and really look forward to seeing my little cherub. He was glad to see me, too, no worse for the separation. I'm wondering already about my next getaway...