When I was first invited to go, my initial reaction was to say no, I just couldn't manage the cost of it and also the logistics of organising the kids with my husband working shift work, it all just seemed too hard but after talking to my mother in law who volunteered to come up and help with the kids and who told me I would never get this opportunity again I started putting the plans into place. I was also extremely lucky to have another friend offer to pay for the accommodation which was such a huge and amazingly generous gesture I just knew I had to go. So operation Hawaii began. 6 months of saving money to pay for the flight, 6 months of telling the kids we can't afford to buy stuff cos mummy needs to save for her holiday, 6 months of getting extremely excited but still trying to keep it on the down low so other people (husband) didn't get too shitty with me! Then of course the spanner got thrown into the works and boy was it a big spanner, father in law having cancer and needing treatment straight away! This certainly took the excitement away from the holiday and left us all reeling. How could I be excited about a holiday when my beautiful father in laws health was so up in the air. Thankfully after weeks of tests his diagnosis was not life threatening at this point at and his treatment plan was put in place. I felt relieved as I didn't want to go away and be having a great time when my family was at home facing such tough challenges. Life certainly knows how to turn you upside at short notice. I was so lucky my own parents put their 50th anniversary plans on hold and stepped in and came over to stay for a week! Bless them.
So on the 2nd of August I left on a plane by myself and boy was it all worth it! One whole week of relaxation, fun, booze, shopping, sun and sunsets not to mention an amazing wedding which I had the pleasure of taking photos of. It was also an opportunity to remember who Katie was before she got married and had kids, before the responsibilities of life in general and before the time when she had to put everyone else's fun before her own. I reconnected with friends I had not seen in years, I laughed so hard I nearly wet my pants on numerous occasions and I started drinking way too early on most days but I didn't care as I had no one to take care of except myself. The only problem was, it went way too quickly! Each night when we crashed into our beds (3 of us in one room was also fun) we stressed about how quickly the days were going and how we only had 5, 4, 3, 2 days to go. We wanted the holiday to go much longer but we also knew we couldn't run away from our responsibilities for ever. Our kids and partners needed us and my suitcases were both chockers so after a week of living it up it was time to say goodbye.
Arriving back into Brisbane last Sunday night I felt torn, I was happy to be home to see my family and my puppies but I was sad to get back to reality, work, routine, cold weather and not putting myself first anymore! Lets face it, how often do we do that when we are mothers and wives? Not enough really.
So as I sit here in my dressing gown, watching the rain pouring down I urge you to put yourself first whenever you can, go on a mini holiday with your friends, drink a little too early sometimes and try to laugh so much you nearly wet your pants as much as you can. You deserve it!
Have a great weekend
Katie xx
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| Sunset in Waikiki |
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| Surfs up in Waikiki |
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| Me and my Holiday Husband |
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| My beautiful friend Tanya |
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| Me, Scott, Louisa |
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| The bride and groom |
