In two days and 18 hours I will board a plane headed for Camp Widow San Diego! This will be my third camp. I’m so excited to go back and reconnect with my mighty squad of widows. I’m also looking forward to sleeping alone in a hotel room with no small humans demanding snacks.

But before I can play in San Diego there is work to do.

Obviously, I must pack myself for the four nights I’m staying. Which I am guaranteed to overpack for but knowing I have a problem doesn’t mean I’m going to change. Wrap up what I can at work, so I don’t come back to an onslaught of messages and overdue tasks.

However, the biggest prep is related to leaving the kids at home. They will bounce to three different caregivers while I’m away. Thankfully they all communicate well so I don’t need to button down exact handoff time and locations. I do create a document for the caregivers. It outlines my travel itinerary, the kids’ activities each day, who is on care duty, and the contact information for their doctors should they need medical care. All those things we just know as parents I make sure to spell out; soccer practice is at X park and the boys will need their shin guards, cleats, ball, and a water bottle. I am also creating a pack list for each kid of what they need while they are bouncing.

I do the prep to make me leaving as easy as possible on the people watching my kids. Not that I’m super worried about the grandparents turning me down to watch the kids but I already know I want to go back in 2024. I also might want to take another solo trip at some point. Therefore, I work hard to make the ship sails smoothly while I’m away with my favorite widows. Now, it’s 2 days and 16 hours until I get to give you all the biggest hugs!