I unexpectedly ended up in Hamburg this week.  This past Tuesday Hubby had an afternoon meeting in France.  He left the house at 6am, drove for 7 hours, attended the meeting, and then had to drive another 7 hours back home.  The following morning he had another 9am meeting 5 hours away, so he would maybe have 3 hours of sleep before climbing back behind the wheel.

Feeling that it wasn’t a very safe idea for him to drive another long stretch on such little sleep, I offered to chauffer him so he could rest.  I thought I could get to bed by 9pm, get in at least six hours of sleep and be fresh enough to drive at 4am.  Besides, we would only be gone for one night and in the name of keeping my hubby in one piece, I extended the offer and he gratefully accepted.

What I didn’t factor in to my planned night of early sleep, is that regardless of going away for one night or seven, packing up takes about the same amount of time. Especially the entertainment and snacks for Little T.  Into bed at 11pm I finally went, but my body must have been pumped with adrenalin as I couldn’t fall asleep until 12:30pm, the same time Hubby arrived home.  As the alarm painfully rang at 3:30am, I cursed myself for being such a nice wife.  But, as I was clumsily pulling myself together, I felt grateful that I didn’t have to do this on a regular basis like my Hubby does.  Quite frankly, I don’t know how he manages it, and then works an eight hour plus day on top.

Little T wasn’t at all annoyed about a 4am wake up time.  He chirped like a bird for the next 2 hours, apparently excited about a 5 hour road trip and the thrill of staying in a hotel room. He repeatedly admired aloud how beautiful the full moon was. The last few words Hubby uttered before falling back asleep were that I needed to drive at least 160km/hour or we would be late.  Whoaaahhhh!  For me 130km/hr is a bit beyond my comfort zone.  160km/hour? In a Ford Focus? On 3 hours of light sleep?  The pressure was on.

But, I did it, and even went as fast as 170km/hr and to be perfectly honest….it was rather fun!  I’m amazed I pulled it off for 3 hours caffeine free.  Imagine if I had a little java in my blood? Maybe I could have pushed the speedometer to 200! Well, maybe not with a Ford Focus.

After dropping hubby off at his 9am meeting and checking into the hotel (thankfully they had a room ready so early) I crawled back into bed.  My chirping bird finally ran out of chirps and quietly watched a show while I dozed.  Waking a few hours early, my body had the beat up like jet lag feeling. This sucked, as I didn’t fly to an exotic destination! But after a hot shower and crisp fresh air from walking around the village, I felt somewhat human again.

Later that afternoon, Hubby announced we had to stay an extra night as another important meeting was scheduled for Friday morning.  What’s up with all these meetings? Oh yeah, he’s a Sales guy.  Suddenly I panicked….what was I going to do all day with a 5yr old in a room smaller than our bedroom at home?  Thankfully, 5 minutes away, an indoor playground was waiting for us.

The next morning we ate a big breakfast – Little T scarfed more food than I ever could in one sitting:  a bun with honey, jam, Nutella, butter, salami, a piece of bacon, sausage, and a bowl of cereal with milk and fruit.  Back in the hotel room 15 minutes later, he downed half a container of cherry tomatoes, then lied down on the bed and groaned “I have a big fat tummy!” Well, no wonder kid.

After an hour of chilling and digesting, we headed over to the indoor play paradise.  Because we arrived before noon, the admission was half price and I could get a free coffee with my receipt.  That’s my kind of playground!

As we climbed and crawled around the play structure, which was designed for bodies of small children and not taking into consideration that their parents may be forced to join them, I suddenly felt grateful for not wearing thong underwear. We came upon an enclosed netted area filled with soft sponge balls and started whipping them at each other.  Finally! I could legally hit my kid and not be arrested! It felt rather good….thinking about all the irritating things he has done, like biting my hand the day before….PING! Take that!  And for yelling at the top of his lungs in the hotel room “I don’t want to get dressed Mommy! PING PING PING! Take that!  I’m certain that Little T was thinking the same, especially when he whipped a whole bucket of balls at me. Take THAT Mommy, for not letting me eat a granola bar before breakfast!

After jumping on the trampoline (which I discovered isn’t well suited to someone with weak pelvic floor muscles thanks to childbirth), jumping on a bouncy castle, and playing a round of soccer, I felt I deserved a break.  While sipping my free cappuccino, I thought about how life can bring unexpected experiences.  Even though my daily routine was thrown out of whack for a few days, I got to get out of the house and whip balls at my kid.  And sleep in.

For the cost of a good night’s rest, it was worth it.