NJ mom: My husband and I are going on vacation and I’m feeling guilty

My husband and I have been married for almost three years, but we've been together for 12. Last January we were blessed with the birth of our son Nathan. Nathan was born three months before the pandemic began.

If I said being a parent is easy, that would be an outright lie. It's not easy, it's hard. We both work jobs that have somewhat odd hours. He works overnights from 9:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m., and I leave for work at 5 a.m. and return around 1 p.m.

We are very blessed that our parents are able to watch our son Nathan whether it's for work or a date night.

In fact, all of his grandparents are going to be watching him over this weekend while we go to Ocean City, Maryland, with our friends.

But I am feeling very guilty, as we have only left Nathan twice overnight. Those were just weddings where we stayed overnight, but this is THREE nights that we're leaving him with my parents. Plus, we're going to be in a different state.

I had to call my bestie the other day because I am having full blown anxiety about leaving for this trip tomorrow. I feel guilty. We are staying in a condo with our friends and we are going to be eating and drinking and just having all sorts of fun, but I know we will miss our little guy.

My bestie told me that Nathan will not remember this trip at all, and he will not know if we are away for one day or 10 days. I know she's right. Plus, my husband and I want to try for baby No. 2 soon, so we will need this vacation really bad.

I also feel guilty that my parents are watching him. They do so much for us already so it feels wrong to ask them to watch Nathan for an entire weekend. But then I was reminded that they love him so much and they love spending time with him. I want them to have this time. It's good for them, too.

So, after that entire rant and with the help of my bestie, I do feel a lot better. Something I seem to forget is mental health, time to yourself and time alone with your spouse is SO IMPORTANT. Life is so busy and it's good to slow down a little and enjoy yourself.

If you're a parent and you wanna go away for a few days and you have someone you trust to stay with your kid or kids, I say, GO! You never know when you will get another chance to just go away and connect with your spouse.