Gone Tastin'

Years ago my childhood friends and I tried to plan a vacation getting all our families together. For multiple reasons the vacation was cancelled, postponed and moved multiple times. After trying to plan for over a year we scrapped the original plans and my friends and I met up for a long weekend (leaving our families at home). Little did we know what an impact that weekend would have on all of us. The laughter, the fun and the break from motherly responsibilities was just what four moms with eight kids between them needed. A tradition was born. (A tradition that always seems to work in wine tasting no matter where we go.) Since that weekend, we have traveled to four different states, eight different cities and more wineries than you can count on two hands. This weekend marks our eighth consecutive year. 

We are often told, "It's so great that you do that" or "You are so lucky to be able to get away every year."  But our response is that luck has nothing to do with it.  All four of us make this trip a priority.  We plan months in advance and the date become sacred.  We've missed baseball games and family birthdays because of it. We’ve left behind sick kids, with a hug and a smile knowing that they would be just fine (and that we would get updates via text). We have a village that supports us while we are gone and that allows us to leave every ounce of guilt at home because we all need this time.  We need this time because over the years we've come to realize that to be the best mom's we can be, we must first be they best women we can be.  Being together makes us laugh and allows us to shed a little bit of responsibility for a couple of days.  Being together we get to eat good food, hot meals and leave our "schedule" behind.  But most of all, being together makes us stronger.

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So forgive me for keeping it short this week, but it's time for me to go back to doing noting, or reading a magazine, or laughing about the time when......  And know that this post is not intended to make you jealous of us, but to tell you that you could, no you should do this too - grab a friend, make a plan and get away. 

Heart-FULLy Yours,    

Kacey