Peanut butter hugs and traveling solo

A walk around downtown Philly in the rain.

Yesterday Adam wanted a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast, but apparently it was really only the crunchy peanut butter he wanted because he picked it off and ate it, leaving him with peanut buttery fingers. And as I was getting ready to leave for work, he gave me a big hug before I could wash his hands.

Two mornings before that, about 1:30 a.m. actually, I woke up to a glass of water being poured over me. I woke up – with a shriek, also waking up Ron – to find Adam standing next to my bed with my glass in his hand. I must have startled him because then he sat down on the floor. I picked him up, carried him to his room, laid him back on his pillow and he fell right back asleep. I changed my clothes, laid a towel down on the bed and went back to sleep.

These are examples of experiences I didn’t have during my first trip without the children.

Last week, from Monday through Thursday, I attended a conference for the American Jewish Press Association. I was able to sit down and eat throughout an entire meal without having to clean up any messes. I could concentrate on whatever it was I was doing, whether it was a lecture, a discussion or a television show. I could complete a thought. I even slept through the night the first night after a day of traveling. (I had trouble sleeping the other two nights, however. I think it was because I was savoring having the time to myself, I didn’t want to waste it by sleeping. But I still made it downstairs on time because it really takes so much less time to get ready when you only have to worry about yourself).

By the time I got to the hotel Monday night, all the programming was finished and since I didn’t really know anybody there, I wouldn’t have recognized them in the lobby or hotel restaurant anyway. I took a little walk outside but then I realized I didn’t know whether or not it was a good neighborhood so I returned to my room and ordered room service and watched some family channel teen heartthrob season premiere then did some work.

The second night was a “Phree Night in Philadelphia,” and whoever wanted to loaded a chartered bus to head down to City Center in downtown Philadelphia. Not sure where everyone went but some went to a Cuban restaurant, some to a Mediterranean restaurant and seven of us decided to take a walk around town to see the sights, even though it was raining. (Thank you to the publisher who had the foresight to bring two umbrellas and she lent me one because at some points during our walk it was pouring). We saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and Delancy Street. We only had until 9 p.m. until the buses came to pick us up so after a couple people in our party, without umbrellas, were pretty drenched, we headed into Jones restaurant. It was SO good. I had a Cheese Where’s-the-Beef Burger, which was a slice of grilled cheese with all the fixin’s.
We finished up a little after the 9 p.m. deadline but being that three people in our group were the ones organizing the conference (and the busride), I wasn’t worried about being left behind.

Some people discussed having drinks in the hotel bar but all I could think about was that precious time to myself. I returned to my room, took a bath, did some reading and watched TV. I also had Internet service in my room and tried doing some work but I had so much trouble logging in and spent time on the phone with IT, that at about 11:30 p.m., I gave up and devoted the next couple hours to solely relaxing.

On the third night, two buses of conference participants headed back downtown to the National Museum of Jewish History and we had a tour of the meeting followed by the gala dinner where historian Jonathan Sarna was the keynote speaker. The balcony had a great view of Independence Square (I think that’s what it is called) and it was a wonderful evening. Our paper won one award (yea, Vicki!).

After returning to the hotel, I relished in my last evening of alone time. I didn’t even bother with an Internet connection this time, I just wrote a quick blog post about the award in the hotel’s business center then went upstairs to pack and watched “Friends.”

Yes, I did miss the kids. And yes, when Zachary told me over the phone. “Mommy, I miss you, come home now,” I did get a little teary-eyed. But it was only four days in 5 1/2 years that I had to myself so I didn’t feel too guilty. (I did feel a little guilty about leaving Ron home with them alone for those four days, but he did great!)