Mommy lets go?

   This is apparently as tough a topic to write about as it is to actually do. Our little girl, who, as of this writing, is almost ten and way not little, is going away without us for the first time. My brain understands this is no big deal and if anything, cause to break out the wine! She has stayed overnight at mom mom's house before and the upcoming event in question is only an overnight trip, too. These trips are rare, though, so rare in fact, that it feels wierd falling asleep in a house without her home.
   I remember when she was an infant and my sister was still alive. My big sis had come by to spend time with her new niece and give us a break. I remember backing out of our driveway and looking back, not seeing a car seat, and wondering what was wrong. 'Is everyone wearing pants?' 'Holy crap, There's no car seat back there!' Fast forward, or blink, in my case, and our fifth grader is spending the night in another state with her older cousin and his girlfriend. It's not them I'm worried about. Once the initial, 'Praise God, we're free!' joy wears off, will I be able to relax? This is me, after all.
    Most things I worry about turn out just fine. I even have evidence written in my own hand, no less, in an old journal. Don't ask me why I have yet to stop worrying over things. I have yet to come up with an antidote for that. I'm not sure I'd recognize myself if I did manage to get a grip. Guilt would be another piece of baggage I'd like to lose. How dare you enjoy yourself as a parent without your offspring??!! It takes the assistance of that rare creature, the good babysitter. We've had rare sightings over the years but we have seen them. It's a short list of people we feel comfortable leaving our daughter with, and not just because our family is small.
   Epilogue: Not only did our girl have a blast with her cousin, but mommy and daddy had a wonderful beach day. I got to eat dinner without thinking about hot dogs or chicken fingers. Nobody got sunburned, and since the kids went to Hershey Park, they even brought back chocolate! This was almost like having another birthday!
It's too bad my nephew and his other half are both in grad school and living in Delaware. We won't be able to do this sort of thing often. The problem is that we need to do this more often. Sending her majesty away like that is too expensive to do regularly, of course, but I'd settle for a few hours to ourselves. We are accepting applications, any takers?