I spent five days in another state without my family.

This might not be a big deal for some, but this was major for us. I have not been away from my husband or kids this long. My daughter has went to sleepovers for a few nights, my husband stayed home with her over night after the birth of our son. But I have never been away from them for this long. I’ve never left my son since he was born. I haven’t went more than a day or two not seeing my husband since we started dating.

Does that make me sound codependent? I honestly, don’t care. I love my family. I love spending as much time with them as I can. My husband is my best friend and experiencing things with him is way more fun than doing things alone.

I traveled once for work during our first year of marriage, but I was only gone for a night. This time I was asked to spend a week in Atlanta. I would be gone five nights. FIVE NIGHTS. I won’t lie, when I found out I cried. I didn’t want to be away that long.

Of course my husband, always the voice of reason, told me the time would fly and everything was ok. It was just a few days….

This might not seem like a big deal for some people. I know there are so many single parents or parents with wild schedules that do things like this all the time. But I felt guilt being gone and leaving my husband to do it all alone. We are a team. Our son has a routine. I understand many kids have routines and sometimes they get disrupted, but they get back on track easily. When that kid is autistic the disruption can derail the train entirely.

This caused so much anxiety and stress. I had complete confidence my husband would handle it all without issue. He is the most hands on dad I’ve ever seen in my life. That didn’t make me feel less guilty.

Then, the day came to head to the airport. I am not a fan of flying. I get motion sickness and if we hit turbulence I WILL get sick. This makes my anxiety worse, because who wants to puke with some stranger next to them or a tiny plane bathroom? Not me!!!!

Thankfully, I made it to Atlanta without issue. The traffic to the hotel took almost as long as the flight. But finally, I made it to my room. Being in a room alone felt so strange. No kids to put to bed, no one laying next to me, no dogs on my feet. I sat there in silence unsure what to do first.

Question? What did we do before FaceTime? How did we survive?!? Obviously, I remember times before cellphones and a time before FaceTime. I’m so thankful for technology at this moment. I FaceTimed my husband and kids. I was able to talk to them and see them and it helped my anxiety.

So how did the week go you ask?

Well, I ordered room service every night, went to bed early and slept in until it was time to go to the office. I haven’t slept in since our son was born. I had no desire to fight traffic to go anywhere. I was tired and I took those few days to just allow myself to be lazy when I wasn’t in the office. I ordered desserts and laid in bed watching tv. Room service for the win.

My husband kicked ass all week. He dealt with all the crazy things that came up. Our daughter getting sick and needing picked up from school. Our son being up all night. Dogs not listening. AND I came home to a super clean house. He’s the real MVP.

We survived the week, but I couldn’t be happier to be home.

Stay tuned for details on how I packed everything for the weekend in a carryon and things I did for the first time since 2020!