My Top Five Favorite Perks of Traveling Without Kids

So let me be clear. When it comes to trips, ninety-nine times out of a hundred, I'll tell you that while traveling with kids can be hard, it is so much better because you get to see the world through their eyes. And if not with my kids, then for sure my husband. Lucky for me, June kinda turned into a month of travel for me, and I was able to enjoy a trip away with Chris, and one by myself.

I took a quick jaunt to my old stomping grounds this week, and I can't tell if I enjoyed the actual trip more, or being able to you know, SLEEP on a flight. To be honest, I was really going back and forth about this trip. The timing was kind of tricky, with it coinciding with the kids' last week of school, and lining up someone to watch the kids while he worked was no walk in the park either. But, Chris was totally on board and we were determined to make it happen.

The kids were more than a little miffed, because they were sure I was abandoning them again, but they seemed to cheer up a bit after the mention of "souvenirs." I was a little sad, too, leaving them again so soon, and I teared up a little bit on my drive to the airport.

BUT...

as soon as I had arrived at the airport, I was all, "Oh. Wow. Yeah, this is nice." I can totes do a few days of this.

So, here you go: My top five favorite perks of traveling without kids!

Taylor ham, egg, and cheese bagel. This is what we will all be eating in heaven.

1. You get to eat all of your food. There's no one asking for a bite of your bagel, and asking you to share. You reluctantly decide to say yes, because, you know, SHARING is an important life skill or whatever, even though in your head you're thinking, "You better ENJOY that bite! And so help me if you decide to spit it out!" 

2. Flights are a flipping breeze! What did I do at the airport? I WATCHED FRIENDS. True story: for a solid minute I got nervous and fidgety while watching because I kept thinking there must be something I was supposed to be doing. Because when did I ever just go to an airport and just, like, enjoy myself?

3. Packing light. You can ask my husband; I get such a thrill from packing efficiently. It's so weird. I check, double-check, and TRIPLE-check every single item I pack and think, "How much do I realllllly need this?" Because of this, I have self-proclaimed myself a packing queen. For real, invite me over before your next trip and I would love to help you pack. For FUN. This time around, I even packed a travel pillow in my carry on because I had so much room left. And normally, I don't ever bring a travel pillow because I don't really consider it an absolute necessity. Besides, when would I ever USE the darn thing?

 



4. I didn't have to worry about nap schedules. We could come and go as we pleased, and I didn't have to worry about Oscar being a total nutcase and running into the street everywhere we went.

5. I didn't have to watch a single episode of Daniel Tiger, or Curious George, or My Little Pony. I mean, it was pretty depressing not waking up to a hundred (loud) renditions of "THIS IS MY HAPPY SOOOOONG...." but we made up for it by catching not one, but two U2 shows. I tell ya, Bono is the man. I have a feeling he and Daniel Tiger would really get along. 

Also, can we all just take a second to bow our heads in thanks that I actually found my car at 1AM in the airport parking lot? I was sitting IN the shuttle when I realized that this was the masterpiece I took to help me find my spot. I'm sure National Geographic will be calling me up offering me a job annnnny day now.