Mini Vacation

I recently took a mini vacation.  It felt so bizarre.  Freeing, yet awkward.  Fun, yet involved.  When my hockey team (The Washington Capitals, the only way you wouldn’t know this is if you don’t know me in real life or on Facebook) made it to the second round of Stanley Cup Playoffs I was determined to get to a game, no matter what it took.  Somehow, all of the planets aligned and I was able to go!  It was thrilling, right from the start.  It was my first time on the dc metro in years. I first took the elevator in the wrong direction, because they had completely redone the metro station since I was last there.  I didn’t know if it was “peak of peak” time, so I paid the higher fare just in case. I brought a book (Scary Mommy by Jill Smokler, whom I recently met- that’s a post for a different time!), but I was too excited to read. I felt young and full of possibility. I picked up my date (husband) from his place (office) and headed out to drinks with a fun gay couple (my sister and partner), and then we went to the Caps game, where they ultimately lost in triple overtime.

I had such a fun evening!  But, I couldn’t help but be consumed by the thought that so much preparation went into attending (what should have been a) three hour game. When Shimmy decides he wants to go to a game all he has to do it walk a few blocks. Which he does, about once a week during hockey season in its long entirety.  I, on the other hand, had to arrange for us to spend the night at my parents house, pack us all up, take out garbage, prepare for the cleaning lady who would be coming early the next morning, pick up the girls early from school, drive down to Silver Spring, go over the kids’ detailed schedule with my mom, pack a separate purse (with a hand pump among other things), get a ride to the metro, return to my parents’ house after the game, pack up all up early the next morning, drive the girls to school, and go home exhausted.  Although I wouldn’t want to go through all of those steps too often, it is worth it once in a while.  Everyone needs a mini vacation every now and then!