I recently went on my first momcation to the mountains of North Carolina. The thought first floated into my mind last fall. I needed some time to myself, away from my everyday responsibilities. I needed days to myself, not just hours! I kept making excuses to NOT go through with it, however. Well, one hard week with my daughter and being a single mom on top of that pushed that idea back into my head. Really, it forced it’s way in and held my sanity hostage for a while. With the tough love of a dear friend I went to planning this solo weekend excursion. BTW, I always appreciate the friend who says, “To hell with it, do what you need to do to stay sane and happy.” So here is my tough love to you, just friggin do it already! Both moms and dads need to take a few days to be alone, do something fun or have never done before, and have a break from saying things like: “Hurry up and eat; get your hand out of your butt, oh, God don’t touch me with that hand; go to sleep already!” Just taking a full 24 hours rest from constantly repeating those soul crushing words is like gaining a weeks worth of sleep and sanity. My added bonus was that I wasn’t woken up at 2 am by the jarring sound of a cat vomiting. Why do we have kids and pets?
Want to know what I did on my momcation? I booked a room in a cute B&B in Pilot Mountain, NC and made my way up there Friday afternoon. The room was perfect for me; it had a fridge and microwave (I always bring food and tea bags when I travel), a huge closet that I did not even use, and an even bigger bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub that I also did not use (germs yo!) For it being a small mountain town I lucked out and found a healthy place to eat dinner. I took my sweet time eating and did not once say to anyone, “Sit down and eat, you won’t get any food when we get home.” Because I brought my own wine, I went back to my room , drank some wine and actually watched a tv show! I would like to point out that I did not call home; I have found that a simple text, “Is everyone still alive?” is sufficient.
The next morn I woke up at 5:30. What gives? Even my daughter doesn’t wake up that early. So I drank some water, ate a few protein balls and walked down to the lake that is on the property I was staying on. On top of a hill, overlooking the lake, is a big, beautiful house with a large fountain in front. I sat on the dock and meditated, all I heard were the sounds of little frogs hanging out and singing on the bank. For a brief moment I was the Earth, I was expansive and everything. I felt powerful. After enjoying that freedom I went back and had breakfast. Then I noticed a pool in the backyard, I didn’t know there was a pool there! So after breakfast I laid out and went for a swim, good thing I packed my swim suit.
My adventure was next. I had always wanted to zipline, lucky me, there was a place twenty minutes away. I went to Carolina Ziplines Canopy Tours, if you get the chance you must go. They were fantastic; the owners and the guides were just wonderful people. We all had so much fun and at the end of our tour we all came inside and enjoyed a frozen ice pop, that is great customer service! This is what I mean by do something you’ve always wanted to do, even if it’s by yourself. No one looked at me funny, even with my hairstyle; they all got a kick out of me being on a momcation. While you’re young and healthy, cross off items on your bucket list, don’t wait! After three hours of gliding through treetops in the mountain I was starving. So naturally I got a whole pizza, no, I didn’t eat it all. I went back to my room, cleaned up and vegged out on the couch. I watched hours of Absolutely Fabulous, drank wine and ate more pizza.
The next morn I slept in! I finished my momcation by going horseback riding. I love horses, their strength and beauty, their subtle ways of communicating with you, and their willingness to empty their bowels anywhere. I’ve noticed the past few times I’ve gone horseback riding I always get the horse who eats the whole time. I’m being paired up with the horse equivalent of me. So, I had to do a lot of reprimanding another being about food. But it didn’t take away from the beauty I witnessed on this trail ride. At one point we rode through a forest of thin pine trees that had fallen over on each other, making X’s from all the trees. Even the trail was canopied by what seemed to be perfectly placed X’s. My horse, whose name is Hammer, brought me very close to a tree. As I was trying to push us away from the tree I saw the largest spider in the woods I had ever seen. He looked like a camouflaged tarantula and was the size of my palm. Good thing I’m fascinated by spiders.
So that was my simple but well deserved momcation. I enjoyed every minute of it, even the 2 hours it took to get there and back. When I got home my daughter asked me, “Weren’t you lonely all by yourself?” No, not all. I truly enjoy my own company, as we all should. We all deserve to get to know who we are, and enjoy being that person and being alone with that person. We all deserve to take breaks from taking care of others, from cleaning our home, from work. I give you this challenge: what are you going to do in the next few months to break away and take care of yourself? What are you going to cross off your bucket list?
