"My first night away from my kids was nothing like I thought it would be."

This weekend just gone I had my first night away from our kids. EVER. In 27 months (which is how old our son, our first born, is). And it wasn’t like I dreamed it would be.

In my mind, this long awaited ‘night off’ was going to be bliss. I was going to sail away blissfully without a care in the world. I would have loads of time to myself, maybe relax a little, have a sleep in, a bath, a massage, leisurely lunches…

Not so much.

Firstly, I was travelling to attend a work event, and had a lot to fit in during my trip. I didn’t have more than ten minutes to myself. My own stupid fault I guess!

At night, I couldn’t sleep because I was missing my babes so much. I texted my husband a LOT. Yep, I’m that much of a tragic ;)

Siobhan's second child. Image supplied.

And the next morning my body clock had other ideas about my dreamy ‘sleep in’. True to form, my eyes opened at 6am and I couldn’t get back to sleep. I did get to stay in bed and scroll social media though...oh, the bliss!

I did get to stay in bed and scroll social media though. Image via iStock.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining. Far from it! For the first time in more than two years, I left the house sans-nappies (not to mention bottles, puree, wet wipes etc etc…). Ahhhhh, I felt so free!

I got to spend time with some amazing friends, actually wear something other than jeans, have a few drinks, and be inspired by some amazing people.

And the little things...ohhhh how amazing was it to actually go to the toilet in private! To have a loooonnnnng shower without interruption. To enjoy a coffee while it was actually HOT!

Enjoying a coffee while it's hot is hard to achieve as a mum. Image via iStock.

So why has it been this long since I’ve been able to get away? Well, we’ve been kinda busy the last 27 months, popping out two babes under 17 months, getting married, moving states, starting businesses and more.

We also don’t have family close by, and never have, so particularly during those early wee baby days it wasn’t possible to leave them. And since our littlest was born she's had reflux and my husband has travelled a lot for work, meaning that I haven’t really been able to take advantage of work invitations like this.

These days, we’re seeing the light so to speak, so it’s time to get a bit of a life back. Eeeeepp!

In saying that, the whole 32 hours I was away I missed my kids like crazy and couldn’t wait to get back to them.

The thing I realised is that from the time that little babe pops out your you know what (or tummy) it’s game over. You’re always ‘on duty’.

You’ll never not worry, or not miss them. You’ll never not be the one that knows every little thing about them.
And you know what? That’s ok. Because being a mum is the best thing in the world. Literally. And it’s all worth it.