solo trip

photo found here

My sweet darling husband surprised me for my birthday with a trip to Paris to meet a girlfriend of mine, Sunny, whom I became close friends with in Manila, Philippines.  We haven't seen each other in years and she's living in Belgium with her sweet family and...oh my goodness we are both getting a weekend away from our kids and husbands.  A girl's weekend, just the two of us in Paris.  It's this weekend!  I can't wait.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that since my eldest daughter, Adelaide who is now almost six years old, was born, I have not had a weekend away from my children.  I have only spent one night away from my daughters in six years. OK, I guess I had two nights in the hospital when Arabella and Ashlynn were born but I can't possibly count that. It sounds ludicrous to be honest.  It's not that we don't travel or do things.  It's just that we tend to do it as a family. My husband travels for work and I am the one who stays home with the kids.  It's just the way it is.  The last few months I've really been feeling the need to #1 have some time to myself and #2 get out of Ethiopia.  Justin took my hints to heart and bought me a ticket and arranged Sunny to meet me.  What an amazing guy!

It's the most luxurious gift I can ever imagine receiving.  Four entire days just worrying about myself.  No one else to feed and clothe and wash but myself.  Even the task of packing my suitcase and filling it with only my personal things; not leaving space for a stack of diapers or children's books, feels so decadent.  It's silly that as a mother now, these simple things seem foreign to me but they do.  At this point in my life personal time IS the ultimate luxury.  I really cannot fathom what I will do with a long weekend of peace, quiet and me time.  I am pretty certain the the long flight to Paris alone will be alarming in and of itself.  Sitting there, with a book and maybe getting a soda and not having to worry about little fingers in my cup or someone kicking my tray to spill the drink.  I can only imagine that for hours, maybe even a good portion of the entire trip, my hands, feet and mind will continue humming with the momentum that is my life with my girls.  I notice just how much chaos I am wading through only when I finally sit down in silence for a moment.  The contrast of my daily life compared to this weekend in Paris is going to be very strange indeed.

But you better believe I am looking forward to it.  Not only the quiet time to myself, but the time I will get to spend with my friend.  I'm really excited about walking in clean air and clean sidewalks. I can't wait to shop and eat and take in the daily life in Paris.  Explore neighborhoods and museums.  Photograph new things!  It's all going to be fabulous.

No tiny buns to wash or hands to clean, no meals to cut up or milk cups to refill.  No tiny shoelaces to tie or hair to untangle.  No meals to cook or clean up.  How many days will I have to be gone before I'll be missing my sweeties?  I'm guessing less than one!

I'm devouring this neat insider blog about Paris.  A friend passed it to me to scope out before my trip and I can't get enough of shopping section.

On my list
The famous Paris flea market

Bensimon shoes

This entire post is just perfect.

What about the food?  You might ask.  Well, anything is going to be delicious and different than what I am getting here in Ethiopia so I not worried about eating well this weekend.  That's just a given.