This is where Mace and I got to spend three amazing days all by ourselves. No kids, no distractions, just each other. It was quiet. It was magical. It was awesome.
Mace and I are a couple that crave alone time together. We get out on dates as often as possible, and count the minutes til the girls go to bed so we can be alone together. We love spending time with each other and are pretty good at making that happen. Except, just for short periods of time.
Anna was 15 months old before I left her with my parents overnight and went to a Bed & Breakfast for a whopping 12 hours. We have done one or two other overnights, but never longer than 24 hours. Never longer than 24 hours, I said. When Mace and I finally realized that we hadn't been away together for a weekend in over four years, we knew that had to be remedied immediately. And remedy it we did.
We packed the girls up and sent them to my parents for two nights, and then my sister and bro-in-law's for a night. Three whole nights! 72 lovely, uninterrupted, kidless hours. It was unbelievably heavenly.
We got to connect in a way that we've never done in the past four years. We got to finish every conversation we started, unless it was interrupted by a spontaneous kiss.
We got to eat entire meals without children on our laps or hearing the inevitable, "I don't like that!"
We got to hike for miles and hours on the Superior Hiking Trail, thinking only of our own need for water, food or rest.
We spent an entire afternoon in almost complete silence, reading and dozing as the feeling struck us.
We drank too many glasses of wine without worry of having to get up in the middle of the night with a child.
We browsed in art galleries and shops in Grand Marais without fear of something being broken by little hands.
We laid in bed until 9:00 each morning and let the sun soak in and warm us through the windows.
We talked and we talked and we talked. We fell deeper in love, though neither of us thought that possible. And we dreamed. We remembered dreams we used to have and created new dreams together. We had time. Beautiful time, just for each other and ourselves.
When we returned on Sunday we were met with the sweetest smiles and hugs. We were all ready to be together again, refreshed and renewed from our time apart.
And, something unexpected from our trip, was this new bond our girls formed with each other. They were apart from us, but had each other the whole weekend. From that time together a new kind of love for each other was created. Awesome.
Oh life is good. So very wonderfully good.
