I Escape, But Only On Thursdays…

As a hard working, trying to juggle everything mum, I look forward to my Thursday nights out with my girlfriend. It's a vigil, a sanity check, and a keep in the real world affirmation. This precious time is like drinking mellow wine. We sit and write, gossip, laugh, and cry – we are back to being girls again. What a feeling!

As a stay at home mum, wife of a serial world traveler, and thrown into home schooling due to an anxiety disorder that struck my daughter like a speeding car, my temporary escape is key to my survival as Dawn.

As we pass through the different stages of our lives, I can't help feeling that part of me is disappearing. Some days when I look in the mirror, the image looking back at me is still the same old me, but I feel as if I am looking at a stranger.

Perhaps, it is because I am a stranger. A stranger to my former self. Yes, I have grown, matured, and learned life lessons, but life itself along with marriage and kids can overtake you like an alien. Invading your very soul. I love my family, but honestly, sometimes I long for solitude. To do things and make decisions based solely and selfishly for me.

As a partner and/or parent, whether you are male or female, we make compensations. We agree to meet in the middle, we compromise, we give in, and we make decisions for the best together. However, the young girl lost in me sometimes wants to rebel.

Is that so wrong? I don't think so.

Even my husband agrees, that in marriage, we do lose a little of ourselves. We are in danger of becoming the mirror image of our spouses if we submit to it. I can never forget an old English TV sitcom where the married couple wears identical knitted sweaters, their identity becoming one or reading "Eat, Pray, Love," where the author describes the time a person told her that in relationships she takes on the look of her partner. A reality that happens to some that is scary to say the least. You may argue that in marriage being synonymous is a good thing and, yes it is, but as a synergy not a coup.

So you see, my safe escape every Thursday allows me to visit with my old self and say hello to her. It allows me to enjoy the feeling of liberation and then return to my family, happy and content. We all need a little escape, so go ahead allow yourself, it is magnificent!

My Royal Indulgence

By Mary Alford-Carman

The closest I ever came to Royalty was in my Mother's womb. When she was expecting me, my Mama and Daddy were in Canada at the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. (I'm not mentioning the year; you can Google it at your own risk!) They stayed at the same hotel where Queen Elizabeth II was and Mama was lucky enough to be in the lobby when The Queen entered. I used to love hearing that story. The Queen stopped when she saw my Mama (huge with me) and gave Mama time to snap a photo. I figure I come by my love of all things English honestly, having been so influenced in the womb. With that, I have to admit, "My name is Mary and I am an Anglophile."

With the wedding of Will and Kate coming up this month, I'm beside myself with happy anticipation of the event. I have the morning planned. I'll be up before the crack of dawn with the TV. Not only will I be watching the event, but while I'm watching I'll be recording it. Knowing my girlfriend Evelyn like I do, we'll both be on and off the phone with each other during the ceremony and after, loving every moment of it.

My book collection has a large section of all things English. The Six Wives of Henry the Eighth, A History of the Monarchs of England, and then the lite reads like The Other Boleyn Sister, along with every magazine that had Diana on the cover, just to name a few. I watched Princess Anne's wedding, Charles and Diana's, Fergie and Andrews, Prince Edward's and what little was shown of Charles and Camilla's. These types of events are the ultimate escape from Mommydom and the recession. During the depression, the golden set of Hollywood and the outrageous gilded movies were the ultimate, elevating the dreariness of the day to day grind and in many cases despair. While I'm lucky to have a roof over my head and all of the things our family needs, it's still been a penny-pinching time, especially with the rising price of gas. Why not enjoy the wedding? I know it's frivolous. I know it will never be my reality, but for a little while I can pretend to be a guest at the most fabulous of weddings before I have to go and clip more coupons. In my mind, what's not to like?