Last week I did something I’ve never done before – actually a few things I’ve never done before. The first was leaving my boys to go to the Beloved Festival in Palm Springs. The Beloved Festival is a gathering of photographers and other artists with the intention of education and inspiration. Inspired I was. I went with 3 other Calgary photographers – Michelle Wells, Julie Miller and Lindsay Nichols. We went as colleagues and left as friends, real friends.
I was apprehensive to leave my kids even though I knew they’d be well taken care of. Of course Guilty Mom conscience kicks in and swarms my thoughts, ‘Am I a bad Mom for leaving them?’ ‘What if something happens when I’m gone?’ or the worst ‘What if I die in a plane crash?’ – really, if someone invented a pill to demolish Guilty Mom conscience I would pay thousands. But guess what? Once I was on the plane I was happy – really happy. I could sit and read a trashy magazine all to myself. I could wear nice clothes and not worry about them being barfed on or ripped or drooled all over. This was good – I like this. While we were there I didn’t really think about my kids, yes I’ll admit it. When I talked to them on the phone I missed them but otherwise I was taking the time to be me again. Not Mom Virginia but Virginia. That doesn’t happen too often and what I realized is that it should happen more often. It is HARD being a Mom. It is draining and sometimes we just need to come up for air. This trip was me coming up for air. Taking a deep breath and focusing on myself for 4 days. So many of us think that doing something for ourselves is selfish (myself included) but it’s NOT. We need it. We need it to be better Mom’s. We need our kids to see that Mom is a person outside of the family and we need it to appreciate all that we have at home.
So what’s the other thing I did that I’d never done before? Well I jumped in the pool with my clothes on. That’s definitely not a ‘Mom’ thing to do is it? There was no alcohol involved in this jump and I wasn’t alone, probably 80% of the people there did it too. It was symbolic of all that we had been hearing over the 3 days – taking the plunge, having no fear, cannonball into life.
This post is part of that. I often worry about what I write on my blog so I tend to not write very much. You know, trying to please everyone and probably pleasing no one. So this post is me cannonballing (think I just made that word up). Being more honest with my readers. If some of you like it – great. If some of you don’t – that’s good too, at least I wrote something from my heart this time.
Below are some photos from our trip. We stayed at The Parker which is the most gorgeous hotel. The interior was designed by Jonathan Adler. He rocks my world. The most amazing mix of new and vintage pieces, eclectic, colourful and oozing style. The outside was a series of courtyards divided by long tall hedges, some with hammocks, some with a firepit, some with a little wooden door you duck through to get into. If you are looking to get away with your girlfriends for some Mom-free time this place is it.
P.S. The coffee is INCREDIBLE.