A Windy City Weekend, Without Charly

A few months ago, our good friends Kate and Steve asked us to come along with them to Chicago. It sounded like fun but we were a little apprehensive. The thought of leaving Charly for not one night, but two, sounded like a bit too much. Kate and Steve have two little boys of their own, Brett (3 years) and Jace (5 months). Jace is only a day older than Charly! Kate is a school teacher as well and Steve works in Des Moines for Iowa Cubs Sports Turf Management. With two growing families, 90 miles between us, and Steve's rather demanding summer job, opportunities to spend time together are few and far between. With months to prepare for the shock of leaving Charly, our decision (while difficult for Kelli), was actually a no-brainer. Of course we took them up on their offer.

Leaving an almost-6-month-old for two nights and nearly three days, is not as easy as it sounds. I'm sure there will come a day when Charly is older and more independent, where a night or two away from her will be a nice refreshing getaway of sorts. But Charly is nowhere near that age now. She has become very attached to us this summer. She's learning new things everyday and we enjoy witnessing this. She's jabbering up a storm and any day she's going to crawl. We surely don't want to miss that! No matter how excited and eager our families were to lend a helping hand, leaving something that is so dependent on you for three days was not going to be easy.

My grandparents picked up Charly Friday morning, saving us a small trip northwest when we were heading out on a longer drive east. She spent the afternoon with them and stayed with my mom and dad Friday night and Saturday afternoon. She was transferred to Kelli's parents Saturday afternoon (gotta share!) and even Jodi and Blaine and Cooper and Brooks came to Allison to help take care of her. Aunt Jodi is becoming rather obsessed with Charly, but in a great way! Charly was in very capable, loving hands all weekend. Even Uncle Chad and his fun-to-pull-goatee made an appearance! She was constantly entertained and loved. In fact, no one wanted us to return!

All of that support helped us let go and have fun in The Windy City. And as it turns out, we weren't the only ones missing our child. Kate and Steve had two children to miss! Lots of stories were shared, making the kids feel not-so-far-away, which put Kelli and Kate more at ease. Friday night we walked the Magnificent Mile, ate Chicago-style pizza, drank, and visited Navy Pier. On Saturday we took in a Cubs game, went on a boat ride, and attended a late night show (11 pm) at the famed The Second City. On Sunday we got lost downtown, coming out of our hotel on the way home!

Many fun memories with Kate and Steve and other friends like them have helped shape who we are today. I'm glad we visited Chicago. Now we have a new batch of memories to look back on. Spending time in the city with Lady Gaga present; learning how to get hotel rooms for free and staying downtown for next to nothing; seeing the busted up streets as the filming of Transformers 3 took place; admiring the loyalty and enthusiasm of Wrigleyville and it's patrons despite Wrigley Field being somewhat of a dump (sorry Cubs fans!); laughing hysterically throughout our Second City performance and being treated to an extra hour of late-night improv; and lastly, hearing on our boat tour about the dreaded upper and lower levels of Wacker Drive, one of Chicago and the nation's most confusing roadways, only to find ourselves lost underground on Wacker Drive the following day and finally escaping into a flood of headlights and honking horns as we mistakenly pulled onto a one-way!

Having a baby changes your life completely. Things get placed on the back burners that have always been cooked on the front ones. Impromptu getaways, a matinee movie, a few drinks with friends, are all now much more difficult to take part in. Borderline impossible most of the time. Priorities get reshuffled, relationships change and develop, and all for good reason. We chose to make Charly. We chose to have her in our life. It's now our responsibility to give her the best life possible. A brief escape is okay. It doesn't make us bad parents. It does the opposite. It strengthens our relationship even more.

Besides, I'm sure our families would prefer we take getaways like this every weekend!