Vacation at Home Depot.

This year my adorably romantic hubby changed Valentine’s Day into a week of Love titled, “7 days of Valentine’s.” The week was full of little gifts of love, letters, flowers, shopping, a sushi class and dine, and breakfast in bed. He melts my heart.  

Let me take you back a day, Saturday night after a 13 hour shift at work, I came home to meet my husband in the kitchen. We talked and laughed like we always do as we put down on a tub of ice cream and a bag of chocolate chips. The whole thing, gone! My two favorites. He knew I would be tired after a long day of work so he kept the night simple and gave me my 6^th gift. It was a homemade coupon book. Fancy scissor cuts, two rings at the top holding it together, the man put his heart in it and I couldn't have been happier with the masterpiece. His coupons were not those of similar coupon books you find in the store or online, but ones he had thought out carefully, ones that he knew suited me specifically, his wife. I went from laughing hysterically at his detailed sexual coupons, to, my eyes burning with tears of love. This man knows me.

Coupon number 6 read, Vacation at Home Depot. These simple words made my excitement hardly containable. This vacation is when the house is spotless and everyone has full tummies, he bundles up the little love of my life and the two of them head to Home Depot. It’s fabulous. Everything on the lower shelves within the monsters reach are too heavy to pick up, so there is no disaster in the isles for him to constantly be cleaning up, and they are free to wander. What guy doesn't love a good trip to home depot, and what woman doesn't love time to herself to blare her music, dance around in her underwear, stare at the ceiling in peace and quite, drink milk from a wine glass, have a bubble bath, or brush the dirt off that romance novel started 6 months ago??

Those of you moms with children, children who demand every second of your time and of your heart, you already know that “mom breaks” are few and far between. Amiright??? Even during nap time it’s catch up on everything the morning made. If you claim you have time to catch up on the tabloids all while your house smells of incense in a remarkable state of cleanliness while your babies rest peacefully on down feathers, you’s a liar my friend… or a Kardashian. That’s not real life, but what I can tell you is this. Enjoy the stage where your children are, play with them, make memories and messes. Use the time they are asleep to watch them peacefully because they won’t always be little like that. Use the remainder of the time to clean up the mess their little hands made and do so happily with little giggles knowing very well when they wake it’ll start all over again. I can promise 10 years down the road when they are reflecting back on their childhood they are going to remember the forts in the living room and the mud pies made in the garden. They will see you, their mom, and they will know true love as I have.   

So, to the mom who would love a tropical getaway to experience that time to herself, but will settle for a vacation at home depot, I sooooo get it. It’s okay to need a break. We run around all day every day at someone else’s beckon, lucky if we find matching socks to wear, all because we decided to embrace the title of being a mom. And while we love spending time with and taking care of our kids, everyone benefits when momma takes some time for herself every now and then, even if it is just a night at home by yourself singing Celine Dion with that wine glass of milk, make it chocolate milk, I won’t tell if you don’t.