Sorry, I can only wish for this kind of experience. My son is going to be 7, in a mo. and we've only ever been away from him for 2pms, and 3 days, at a time, and he's a very difficult case.
He's very sweet when he hasn't had gluten. We have Celiac Disease here, and it necessitated homeschooling for a while, because public schools wouldn't put up w/ having to clean up when he soiled himself/the bus/the class rugs/etc. He was getting a rep. as "the kid who poops on the bus".
We really didn't want to homeschool, and there are few child carers that we can entrust him to, under these conditions, and the ones that understand and are willing and able to deal with it, are expensive or they are my parents, and he finds my parents boring to the point that we couldn't make him go there, last night when we really needed a break.
It turned into a power struggle and we lost.
I guess I'm telling you that as bad as your sitch feels, I envy you the freedom to go away at all, for more than 3pms/days.
That being said, we must keep in mind that because of how we're hard wired, as parents, we're going to be torn up inside when we know that we're not going to be able to micro-manage their little lives for a few days.
Take a deep breath, let your hubby drive you away, and have a stiff drink when you arrive at your destination, and a hot bath/shower, then take another deep breath, forcefully expell it, find something to laugh about and you'll find the anxiety has dulled to a whisper to be replaced my more reasonable thots/feelings.
That last was actually professional advice from someone who happens to know both from experience and from having taken many on many classes in alternative health care, toward being a Certified Massage Therapist. I have been for over 10 yrs. now. Breathing is the first most important step that you can take to boost your immune system and improve your health. It is the why and wherefore of Tai Chi and Yogic practices handed down thru the centuries, and it is not yet as well understood as we health practitioners would like, or there would be far fewer visits on the whole, across Amer. to Western Doctors and pharmacists.
Being healthy is tantamount to being happy and vice-versa. You need time away from your kids to recharge your own batteries and to continue to be happy, or you will be too drained to have anything to give them, very shortly, and you will begin to resent them for being needy demanding little monsters. ........Excuse me, did I say monsters? I meant Dear Litttle Demanding Treasures.
I guess I really need a vacation, too.
