Although I don’t want to overshadow my wedding night, the night that either of my children came into the world or that one really fun night in Chicago with friends…. I simply must say, last weekend I experienced the BEST. NIGHT. EVER. What on earth could trump babies, love and drunken fun you ask?? Why the Spring Hill Suite Marriott in West Des Moines, of course!
Being the amazing individual that he is, my husband insisted that I honor the anniversary of my mom’s passing in the comforts of a hotel. It wasn’t about luxury, spa treatments, and fancy environments so much as it was about relaxation, quietness, and the opportunity to be alone with my thoughts. As a working mom, this is unchartered territory. After checking into the hotel, I spent the first hour roaming around the hotel…. Looking for laundry to pick up, a kitchen to clean, a kid to place in a time-out or a menu board to start prepping the upcoming week’s meals. Finding none of these things, I finally allowed myself to relax and ENJOY.
Without having to move a Sponge Bob water basketball set or foam letters, I simply filled the water and got ready to relax. There were no rubber duckies to sit on, no gooey water crayons oozing out colored gel and no kids running in every 10 seconds screaming at the top of their lungs.
Hot water + jets + Starbucks Vanilla Latte + reading = AMAZING.
Ohhhhhh! This was my FAVORITE part! I actually had time to journal, reflect, THINK…. And eat a cupcake 🙂
I slept so late the following morning that I actually had to rush to make it downstairs before they stopped serving continental breakfast… At 10am. Awesome!
Was there a men’s basketball team doing sprint drills one floor above me most of the night? YES. Was there a baby to the left of my room that someone had obviously placed in a closet with no food for 2 days? It appeared so. Did I once (or okay, maybe twice) look through my peep hole to assess the noises I heard in the hallway directly outside of my room to verify that a call to 9-1-1 wasn’t necessary? You bet’cha. None of this could take away from my BEST. NIGHT. EVER.
Yeah, yeah, my original plan was to wake up early and hurry back to my family. However, knowing that my ever-concious-of-money husband (a downfall of being married to an accountant) had already paid for the room, I simply wanted to get my moneys worth. So did I milk this stay for all it was worth and wait until the cleaning staff came knocking at my door to tell me it was past check-out. Perhaps. Do I feel the least bit guilty about it? NO WAY!
