TRAVELING WITHOUT YOUR KIDS
I have always been a lover of traveling, I love seeing the world and getting to know different cultures, hearing different languages, eating different foods among others. Traveling has always been one of my favorite things to do. And since my family lives in different continents, I've been fortunate enough to travel a lot.
Having babies hasn't stopped us from traveling, it just makes the planning a little more complicated. If the kids come, I have to buy a million things and pack my entire house for them just in case, but if they don't come, then I have to prepare and plan what they'll do while I'm not there, as well as work on the logistics of who will take them to school, soccer, etc.
Honestly, I have always been a little scared of taking the kids on a plane, remember, I've never had just one kid, so I always feel that it can get very complicated in an instant during any flight. Imagine having to fly across the pond, on a couple of flights of about 17 hours of airtime, it's quite scary.
When we travel without the kids, the hardest part is saying goodbye to them. I remember the first time we left the twins, they were just six months old, personally I had such a hard time leaving them home. The first few hours all I can think of is what the kids are doing, if they ate, slept, and so on, it's just hard, but after that it all starts getting better and better. Of course I miss them all the time, I would be lying if I said I didn't, but I always think that we'll be together soon enough, that way I can enjoy the few days I get to have off of my routine.
I feel that when I'm away for a few days without the kids I get the chance to think, reset, and find myself again, while enjoying being away from my day to day. That way when I come back I can be a better version of myself. When my husband and I go away together we really get the chance to enjoy each other, bond and talk, even if it's mostly about the kids LOL, and we always come back stronger and more in sync than before.
The kids also benefit from us leaving, as they get to enjoy the family, and the family really gets to enjoy and have fun with them. I don't know why, but kids act totally different with the family when parents are around, as opposed to when they are alone with them. They also get to enjoy a change in their routine, it's like they have their own "staycation", where they get spoiled by the whole family.
I really recommend all parents to travel alone with their partner, It's so beneficial for the relationship. It really gives you time to relax, talk and enjoy each other for a few days without all the distraction of everyday life.
Just a heads up, I have noticed that every time I come back from a trip the kids tend to be a little more attached to me than usual, but only for a few days, so I just cuddle a little more than usual.
The last time I left, I thought of a good idea for the twins to know when was I coming back. Since they don't have a good sense of time yet, I made them sticky notes with numbers on each page, doing a countdown of the days left for me to arrive. That made them so excited, and everyday they would peel off one of the papers, telling me over the phone the number of days remaining to see me.
