How moms get away

When I first was invited to go to the French Lick Springs Resort for a free overnight as part of my role as a blogger for the Indiana Insider Blog, my first thought was "girls weekend!" Making that happen turned out to be more difficult that one would think.

I first invited the three women from our small church group. Our group has had a hard time getting together lately and I thought it would be a great, budget-friendly way to re-connect. But one mom's daughter was having a birthday party on the night we were to be gone. Another mom was chaperoning her kid's crew team at a regatta out of state. I was holding out hope for mom #3, until her daughter's marching band needed parents to accompany them to a competition in St. Louis.

So, plan B was Mike. That wasn't really any easier. We needed to make arrangements for the kids and the dog. Annie was scheduled to be at a sleepover where she could have stayed longer if necessary, so no worries there. But the boys -- Charlie had a football game on Sunday that we didn't want him to have to miss, so we called our favorite babysitter to see if she could do an overnighter. Nope. Blacksmithing convention with her dad.

Because my mom had just watched my sister's kids overnight, I figured she'd have a tough time declining my request for the same. And she didn't decline. But she needed us to bring the boys to Ohio. She and my dad were getting ready to set up shop to sell spiritwear at a high school spaghetti supper on Sunday. They had lots to do before the event. In all fairness, my parents would have taken the boys, but it wouldn't have really been fun for the boys; it would have been a pain for my folks; and it would have added 4 extra hours of drive time to our schedule.

On Friday afternoon, I invited 2 other moms -- ladies I've been friends with for probably 12 years. They both seemed interested. But when Lisa checked her schedule, she realized they were hosting card club and then her mom was coming into town on Sunday. Bummer. Maureen, however, managed to figure out how to get away, which is pretty amazing considering she has 6 kids.

We were set, then. I told Mo we'd leave around 1pm. Which we would have, if I didn't have to take Charlie to and from football practice in the morning, try to get assistance from the help desk for a computer virus on my work computer, shower, pack, deliver trash bag orders, go to the bank, and get Annie to her friend's house who would then get her to the sleepover.

So at almost 2:30pm, we were on the road. We settled in for the 2-ish hour drive and Maureen pulled out  this massive stack of coupons. She spent the drive sorting through expired coupons, clipping coupons she wanted and organizing them in some invisible system she's worked out. Because I was driving, I couldn't be quite as productive, except to call Mike and remind him that he was responsible for the Bible and the banner at the children's liturgy on Sunday.

Once we arrived at the hotel -- beautiful, gorgeous, ahhhh -- Maureen and I crashed and vegged in the room for an hour or so before it was time for dinner, then the tour of West Baden. (Watch the Indiana Insider blog for the write-up.)After the tour, we walked the 1+ mile back to our room and grabbed a quick drink at the bar.  Then it was back to the room, where Mo finished her coupons and we both spent the evening looking through catalogs, making our Christmas shopping lists.

The next morning, we were up and out the door by 9ish because we each had to be back for a kid's football game. We grabbed breakfast on the road -- homebaked yumminess at the Lost River Market & Deli in Paoli -- and headed home. Maureen worked on some kind of project (don't remember what it was) and I tried to get the fly out of the transportation ointment when Annie texted to say the plans I'd set in place for her getting to Sunday School weren't going to work out.

Less than 24 hours after we returned, I dropped Maureen at her son's football game and drive across town to where Charlie was playing. Afterwards, I had to hit the grocery store to get the week's snacks for Robbie's class. Plus the other Sunday night activities of homework, laundry, dinner, etc.

I had a great time away, but it's no wonder that it just didn't seem long enough. I think that's just where I am. However, let me assure you that when my nest is empty, I'm planning one of the best, longest, loungiest, girls getaways the world has ever known.