Yesterday I set out on my first all day, all night trip away from Baby Gray. This weekend was Aunt B’s bachelorette party in Port Aransas, and the rest of the girls headed south Friday. I didn’t think I could swing two nights and parts of three days this first go-round. I had intentions of leaving about 7:00 am yesterday, but Baby Gray decided to sleep until 7:00 (I was not about to wake him up–he’s been doing so well sleeping through the night). Even though I had a later start, I was glad to spend time feeding him and loving on him before I left.
I stopped to pick up a breakfast taco on my way, and as I was walking back out to my car, I flipped out. I thought I left Baby Gray in the car while I went to get my taco. Thank goodness he was not in there all by himself! He was safe and sound with Annie and T-Paw!
The whole trip down, I wasn’t really feelin’ any of the music on the radio; I didn’t have anyone to visit with on the phone as a distraction; I mostly just wondered what Baby Gray, Annie, and T-Paw were doing while I was gone. About the time I was going over the bridge to the island, I started getting excited about being with friends for a good time, and feeling less sad about being away. THEN… Brad Paisley’s song Anything Like Me came on the radio. I lost it! I cried my eyes out, called Mr. Gray and told him I wanted to turn around, and then regained my composure about the time I pulled into the condo parking lot.
The girls were all down at the hot tub, and after a few quick picture texts from Annie, I was feeling much better about the weekend. Aunt B got some awesome gifts (with riddles for added flair). Then we went to an early dinner before our class at Tipsy Canvas.
Tipsy Canvas was really neat–they assign a specific painting to each class, and the instructor shows you exactly what to do to create it. Art is definitely not a strong suit of mine, and my Santa turned out recognizable enough that Mr. Gray chose to put it in the living room with our Christmas decorations.
We loaded up our Santa paintings and headed to find a dancing spot… What we found was that bars in Port Aransas are sometimes closed for extended periods of time in the winter. We settled on Bernie’s–it had the most cars in the parking lot.
When we finally made our way back to the condo, we got everyone settled in and crashed. Of course, I was in the living room with Mrs. B and Auntie Heather–Mrs. B and I are usually up pretty early. By 7:30, the three of us were awake. Mrs. B & I finally decided it was time to start cleaning up so we could get ready to head out. By 9:30, I was on the road.
My drive home was much better. I was energized and fresh from a weekend with fun and friends. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had let Aunt B down. She’s my best friend; she’s in the group of people I love most on this earth; she’s always been a top priority. How was it that I was the last one there and the first one gone on her weekend? For the second time in as many days, I cried while I drove. This time because I was upset about leaving my friend. I was grateful, though, that she was surrounded by great friends who totally pulled my weight and then some.
Sometimes life’s changes bring about a paradigm shift; I had to grapple with that this weekend. In general, I will do anything for my friends–sometimes it’s over-the-top and crazy, sometimes it’s just being on the other end of the phone. Now, though, I have to do what’s best for Baby Gray first. I hope I don’t have to choose often because it kills me to not be the type of friend I once was.
