So, I cringed this morning when the twins ran into Kindergarten chattering about their parents’ trip to Vegas. Because even though our trip was more about relaxing than satisfying any vices, Vegas still carries that stigma. And since I look old and tired on a good day, any teachers or stray parents could totally assume the bags under my eyes were because of a more interesting sin-city reasons than the truth that I was up late blogging.
When another mom asked about our trip, and I found myself overexplaining why we chose to spend a couple days in Vegas. After my second paragraph about the great shows and “culture” of Vegas, I knew I was justifying.
Because here’s the sad truth: Vegas is the easiest place to be a tourist. This surely speaks volumes about me as a traveller. Yes, I love to travel, and sometimes, I’m looking to expand my horizons. But for the past decade? I want to travel so I can check out. Flashy lights and easy cab rides and over-the-top opulence available to the masses? Perfect.
Over the past ten years, we’ve been to Vegas six times–I think. I don’t really remember because every trip there has fulfilled a desperate need to get away from reality. That similarity blurs the trips into one.
Trip One was ten years ago. My best friend, Jen, and I went to watch the Indigo Girls perform. Life had been so busy for us–me traveling with M and writing two books at once. I think Jen was teaching. After years of spending most of our time together, we missed each other. I was so desperate to spend some quality time with her, I think I might have bought her plane ticket. Is this true? And, in retrospect, it seems a little crazy I missed her so desperately when we got to see each other a handful of times every month. Now, I see her a handful of times in a year. So glad she owes me a plane ticket to Vegas!
Trip Two was one with M so we could both check-out. He was traveling a lot for work in a position he didn’t love. For years we’d been trying for a baby, and we were worn out with reality. Hello, Tina of the Past: those babies are going to wear you out so much more than trying for them ever did.
Trip Three: Catie was about eight months old, and the nursing wasn’t going so well. Mostly because she hated it. Today, she doesn’t eat or drink any dairy because milk upsets her stomach. Huh. That explains the crying jags every time she nursed. So, M and I took a weaning trip to Vegas. If this was a Weaning for Dummies book, I would tell you that it’s not a super idea to stop nursing cold turkey. Seriously. I went from nursing my baby eight times a day to not at all. The result was that Grandma had a confused baby on her hands, and I did a lot of hand-expressing in casino bathrooms.
Trip Four: After the twins’ first year, M and I knew three things…1) we were exhausted 2) we wanted to go on a trip together 3) we were too tired to think. Lake Las Vegas was the perfect getaway. If I were the kind of blogger who did neat things like included lots of pictures, I would add the one of M and I when we first got there. TWELVE MONTHS of three kids under three had taken their toll on our faces. Vegas was perfect because we only had the energy to stumble around and take in the free exhibits and characters. Case in point: the following picture that I just found. See? Now you can witness for yourself that I wasn’t exaggerating about wearing my fatigue on my face. Or the ten extra pounds from having twins. I was making Flavor Flav look good.
Trip Five: The day before I checked into the hospital for my c-section to have Nate, I received my contract to write God Loves Moms. Over the next four months, I wrote a book, nursed a newborn, started the kids in all new schools, and joined a new church. Oh, and got Chronic Fatigue. Smack dab in the middle of all this chaos was the Urban Race National Championship, which was in Vegas. We went with Jen and Kenny and had so much fun getting away from all that stress.
Trip Six: Again, life has been busy and filled with way too much reality of “Really? We both forgot to take the recycling out AGAIN? There’s no way you can get Catie from school? On Tuesday, we are triple-booked, and I’ve had a headache since last Friday” conversations. I knew M and I needed a little time together, but I didn’t want to do one bit of research to find a good place. Or more research about how to find the best restaurants and shows to entertain us. I just wanted to land far, far away and follow the masses to the beautiful hotels and spas and restaurants.
So, thanks, Shane, for turning 40 at just the right time that we needed a big dose of un-reality.
And, thanks, for inviting us along for the delightful tackiness of another Vegas trip.
