The week before Mother’s Day was a rather magical one for the Sharp family, or at least for the Wonder Woman and me. It was magical because we went on vacation.
Without the kids.
Just two adults seeing the world, enjoying themselves, taking naps, sleeping in, and eating meals without consulting kid’s menus.
For parent of young children an adults-only vacation is spoken of in almost mythical terms. Parents speak of it in hushed tones, the same way that ancient explorers talked about Atlantis or the Fountain of Youth. Other parents, who you’ve always considered to be good friends, can at times react with jealousy (and maybe a little anger) when they find out that you are getting to take a trip without the kids. To be honest, we needed the vacation so we didn’t really care how other people reacted, we just needed a break.
This was only the second vacation that we’ve gotten since the Zoologist was born eight years ago, and it is the first since the Wonder Woman got pregnant with the almost-two-year-old Jedi. So yes, we were more than ready to get as far out of town as possible, as quickly as possible.
The trip wasn’t all play though. Three days of it were spent at a retreat for writers put on by the agency that represents me (and now the Wonder Woman) as an author. The retreat was fun, and I definitely learned a lot, but I have to be honest that walking into a room occupied by several dozen other writers is a little nerve wracking. On one side of the room you have the novelists all watching you like a hawk to see if you do or say anything particularly interesting or dumb that they can incorporate into a character in their next book. Then there’s a table with the mystery writers sizing you up to see if you’d make a good model for a victim or serial killer in their next book. The whole thing can be quite stressful and I eagerly wait reading a book about a character named Aaron Sharperson who comes to an unfortunate end in a freak shag dancing accident that takes place on a South Carolina tea plantation.
All I ask is that the character gets to enjoy a break from his kids before his untimely demise – he at least deserves that.
