How to Survive Life in the Suburbs

Escaping Suburbia

in Everyday on


A spontaneous getaway with the girls!
Not my little girls.
Real women.
Friends.
Imagine. Taking time away from my family and doing something for me?

Quick! Time to pack.
Suddenly my head was spinning. I feel anxious?
Not that long ago a quick getaway also meant a quick pack.
Easy. Bikini, sunscreen, 1 or 2 cute little dresses and a credit card and I was good to go.
Things have changed.

My first task to prepare for this last minute weekend of girlfriend travel.
Confront the Stress.
Apparently I must agonize and rant about how I need to lose some weight. I can camouflage those extra 5 pounds I’ve been carrying for a couple of hours over dinner, but there’s no hiding that extra poundage on a beach weekend.
When did I start caring about what other women think of me? Weird.

Then my inner control freak shows up and starts with the lists.
Things that must be done around the house before I can even think of going.
Groceries in the fridge so my family doesn’t starve to death, or live off chips and cookies for 2 days.
Laundry all caught up so my children will at least have clean clothes if they go out in public.
And for some odd reason, the house must be clean from top to bottom. I don’t know why because we all know by the time I get back the place will be destroyed…underwear all over the floor, and pizza boxes littering the counter tops.
When did I get so damn boring??

When I feel my house is in order I can begin the ordeal which is packing.
Where to begin?
Now that I am “old” (38) this means I start to pack up what can only be described as a mobile pharmacy. Either I am really sick and in need a lot of drugs or I have turned into my Mother. The good news, if you are traveling with me and take ill..I got cha covered.
Next on my list are bathing suits, oh and these little babies can no longer travel alone, they must have cover ups! Lots of cover ups, wraps and disguises. We must not forget that I am still in mourning from the Death of my Bikini.
The 1 or 2 cute outfits I used to just throw into a bag? These are now carefully planned, best of the best, “outfits”. Each must also have little matchy sweaters and cute shoes. Lots of yoga pants and comfy sweatshirts too.
Magazines.
Make-up.
Snacks. Everyone loves the girl with the best snacks.
Hair Stuff.
Drinks.
Cell phone.
The bag for two days is now getting incredibly heavy.
That has to be everything!
UG!
It is decided.
Escaping from the suburbs for a couple of days is a lot harder then it looks.

Next time I feel the need to embrace my spontaneous diva from within…I’ll take the Hubby Skinny Dipping. No planning required.

    • Comments

    1. Forget about leaving food for the hubby and kids because they’ll just eat chips for two days anyway or go out to eat the whole time you are gone.

    3. that’s funny – I have packing anxiety when taking the girls out for an hour, but for me? If I have my license and debit card, I’m good. I refuse to clean because I want to make sure my DH realizes that there is no laundry or dishes fairy, and that I actually do a lot during the day. Last time I stayed out overnight, he called at 10am the next day with a million questions and more praise for me!

    5. I so hear you on this one! Going away and actually getting in that car to initially leave is like exhaustion from preparation!

      Good to be back and catching up on your posts… yeah!

    6. I love this post–it is so true. My friends and I went to Las Vegas last year to celebrate my birthday. We are all married moms, except for one single girlfriend I have known since 8th grade. The planning it took to get all of the babysitters lined up, the clothes, etc. You would have thought all of us were leaving for months!
      My single friend strolled in and lead us all around Vegas like complete amateurs. She couldn’t believe how “dull” all of our lives seemed.
      Funny though–we were all so ready to get home to our husbands and kids, even if it meant 17 extra loads of laundry, and chiseling old food off the counters–can’t beat the cozy feeling of home:)
      http://www.mouthymama.com

    8. Can I just tell you how jealous I am that you’re only carrying 5 extra pounds! 🙂 Have a fantastic child-free time with the girls