Internet, do you ever travel alone? As I planned my fall trip to New York over the summer, I was adamant to my darling husband: I was taking this trip ALONE. I think I kind of hurt his feelings a little bit in how firm I was about it. To be honest, I still kind of cringe when I think about how that conversation went down (I’m sorry, love). But I felt in my gut that this was a trip I needed to take solo. I was seven months postpartum with not a lot of sleep on the record and there was a fancy hotel room booked with big fluffy pillows and it was all for me. It was one thing that was getting me through the summer.

But as I got on the plane for NYC that early morning, my heart was heavy. I was physically tired (months of start-and-stop sleeping patterns and nonstop time with kids – oh, and the stomach flu! of course!) and emotionally tired (first time leaving the baby, not to mention tying up all the loose ends in order to get on that plane).  I was majorly second-guessing taking this trip. The money! The time away! What was I doing? Who am I?

That’s the thing about the Trenches of Motherhood: you start to forget who you were, pre-kids. You’re so focused on the daily tasks: feeding, laundering, maid duties (yup, let’s call it what it is), discipline, dog poo (gahh), diapers, work (crammed into naptime). You’re surviving. And it’s all good because you’re loving on your family, but burnout is imminent.

So as the plane touched down at LaGuardia and I fell into the back of the taxi cab, I felt sunshine on my face and the excitement of the city. I felt a twinge of remembrance, of recognition. I remembered what it was like to be in my early twenties when I traveled around Europe, totally solo, as a college student. It’s one of my proudest accomplishments, if I’m being real. The fact that I did it myself. I made my own way. The hunt for adventure and the thrill of a big city, popping into shops, and finding the courage to eat alone in a restaurant. In short, I remembered Me, pre-kids. And that’s the beauty of solo travel: it’s like taking yourself on a fantastic date. 

That trip to New York and Boston was energizing and invigorating. I slept in big fluffy white beds, took taxi cabs, missed flights, had some great meetings (like time spent in the studio with Jill Rosenwald) and read a bunch of Harry Potter books (as I’m the last person on the planet to read them). And when I came back to my precious family, I was ready to dive back into the trenches next to Simon. To take up the fight again and to remember how grateful I am that I’m not alone day in and day out.

So I’m curious – have you ever taken a solo trip? Would you?

LUGGAGE BY STEAMLINE // RED GEMMA FLATS BY JCREW // FRESH SUGAR LIP BALM // KATE SPADE MONOGRAM KEYFOB