My Time Away

I just returned home from a three-day MOPS convention. For those that don’t know MOPS stands for Mothers of Preschoolers and is a Christian based mothers group. I can’t believe it but this is my fifth year as a member! It was my first convention however and – wow! My good friend SheriLynne returned home from convention last year and came back to the group talking about how awesome this trip was for her. She went last minute and alone but still had an amazing time. Her goal was to talk some other moms from the group into going together the following year. I was convinced, sign me up I said. I knew we wouldn’t be in North Carolina anymore so it would be a chance for me to reconnect with my girlfriends. I have never taken a girls only trip before. That in itself was a seller – leave Mike in charge of the children for four days? This would be a first for him as well. I was looking forward to it – a break for me and an eye opening experience for him.
I prepared my home for my departure. I cleaned, I prepped lunches for my boys, I wrote notes for Payton to read daily, and I even typed my husband a tip sheet. I packed ONE small suitcase (a first since having children), said goodbye to my family and drove myself to the airport. What an odd feeling to be traveling alone, after 5 ½ years of having at least one little one by my side. I indulged in People magazines and brought a Nicholas Sparks book that I have owned for over a year and never opened. I was the first to arrive from my clan so I checked into my room and began to survey my surroundings. We stayed at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine TX – what a gorgeous hotel! I loved our little patio with the view of the atrium – perfect for my morning coffee that I was going to get to drink in peace for 3 whole mornings! I had lunch by myself while I waited for the girls to arrive (the food there was delicious!) How nice to actually finish a meal in peace. I already felt better and the convention hadn’t even begun!
Once the activities got started it was nonstop. I have never been anywhere with so many women (I am guessing about 5000). The mornings began with wonderful praise and worship. The guest speakers at the general sessions were truly inspiring – my favorites turned out to be men – imagine that…. There were moms there that shared their testimony and how MOPS has changed their lives. We broke off into smaller breakout sessions. I was with my friend Hillary the whole time (if you are reading this Hill I am so glad we were together!) and our sessions were great. After some great dinners and one night of comedy we all headed back to our adjoining rooms for some girl time. It was so good to see my friends again and share what we have been going through as moms, wives and women. I miss you already ladies!
We of course all had our cell phones and they were used not only for keeping up with one another but for the constant checking in on the kids. My husband has always been supportive of me getting time for myself. The Marine Corps however is a different story. There are so many reasons why I am thankful that God has placed us in Pensacola and the top one has to be Mikes new work environment. I had originally lined up a sitter for Thursday and Friday. When that ended up not working out my husband said, “It’s ok I’ll just take leave” to which I thought to myself “Huh? – are you my husband”. You see, in NC that would have never happened – too much going on at the squadron. So – in the end Daddy got the kids with no help for four glorious days! Overall he did marvelous. He took them bowling, to a Peanut Festival, to Bark in the Park. One particular evening he called and said to me “I’m just wondering how I am going to get through tonight”. How many times have I thought that? He explained it was 515, he hadn’t started dinner yet and Wyatt was screaming, and Payton I am sure was having a meltdown (there were a couple over the course of my trip). I just smiled and said well good luck! So upon arriving home he told me it was not fun, he felt like he was just “enduring” at times and he has no idea how I did it for 7 months. AMEN!!!!!!!!!!! How validating. If I didn’t get anything out of the trip myself it was worth going just for that. My man has always been a hands on dad but for him for finally get what I go through is wonderful.
Taking a break from the everyday to be reminded that we are God’s daughters – that through him we can make a difference in this world and that our greatest accomplishment will be shaping the little people we are in charge of day in and day out. One of the speakers pointed out what a privilege it is that we as mothers get to partner with God in raising our children. I was reminded that the hands on part of parenting is short and fleeting and we should take advantage of every second. Before long we will be wondering where the time went ( I already do).
I came home revived, rejuvenated, inspired and motivated to be the best mom I can be. I also came home tired – after 3 nights of staying up past 1am I need a nap!