Every Mom Deserves a Sister Wife Vacation

Every tired mom deserves the kind of vacation where you can enjoy cocktails and girl time free from the guilt of leaving our precious little ones behind at home. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Trust me ladies, it’s within your reach. Enter: the sister wife vacation.

It’s not a sister wife vacation in the form of a bad TLC reality show where you have to tag along with a weird guy wearing Jesus sandals, but rather a gathering of close girlfriends and their kids headed to a place other than the hometown park or pool. The winter of 2018 proved to be the longest in the history of all mankind (this is not an actual stat from a proven source, rather qualitative data gathered from every mom across the Midwest).

On one particularly snowy day, a group of friends decided to head to warmer weather to escape flu season and feel the sunshine for the first time in months. With work and school schedules, we knew we could only manage a few days, and unfortunately the husbands wouldn’t be able to join on such short notice. Flying and traveling as solo moms meant dragging our own luggage, renting our own cars, wrangling kids and managing bedtime routines without the help of our masculine counterparts.

Could three moms manage five kids in a new place away from the comforts of our own community? Duh. Of course we can! This is where the #sisterwife mentality comes in to play. One mom is perfectly capable of opening juice boxes while applying sunscreen and making sure someone doesn’t drown in the ocean. Add in two more moms, and we could basically devise a large-scale plan to run the world while our children frolic in the sand.

Beachside lunch outing with tired kids. Nailed it!

Moms get each other. We recognize when one has hit her max. She is then sent to a beach chair under a rented cabana to relax and read a book while the others watch her offspring. Once she feels rested, she readies the snacks, shakes the sand out of the beach towels and pours a glass of vacation wine in to a Solo cup for her female counterparts.

Lunches and restaurant outings operate like a well-oiled machine. While the moms split charcuterie boards and dine on local fare, our kids are conversing with fun playmates and eating their overpriced hot dogs. If one gets out of line, the sister wife closest to said child reaches over to correct or redirect a tantrum. Fun girlfriend conversation can happen on one side of the table while the kids giggle and play at the other.

Trips to the pool and beach are met with military style tactical coordination. We know children have a limited amount of patience and time when it comes to heading out for a major outdoor activity. Between nap and snack schedules, parents need to be on their “A” game to execute an excursion without a mental breakdown from at least one party. After hundreds of trips to the zoo and pool at home, moms are well aware of this statistic. Everyone is up, dressed and fed breakfast no later than 9 a.m. Sunscreen is applied, cars are packed, beach toys are dusted off and kids are properly hydrated. Once their chunky feet hit the sand, it’s bliss for everyone. Kids meet their friends with excitement and good cheer because seasoned moms have tag-teamed a well supplied and coordinated outing. Onlookers can’t help but be inspired by this group of tankini-clad veterans clanking La Croix cans and sunning themselves.

Ice cream stop. One mom passed the wet wipes, one mom paid for the treats, one mom kept them in line.

After four days and three nights of ocean waves and pure bliss, three moms and five children returned to the dreadful winter of 2018 refreshed and looking forward to another trip to paradise. Our kids developed deeper relationships and had constant entertainment throughout their short vacation.

We, as moms, supported one another, lent a helping hand, and also felt relief from the daily grind that is parenthood. We were able to relax while also being a part of our kids’ happiness. We experienced girlfriend time and laughed until our stomachs hurt while we lovingly watched our little ones build sandcastles and play Frisbee. It was a wonderful escape from reality, and reinforced that a group of moms are a strong force to be reckoned with.

It wasn’t a typical vacation, but oh my, was it a lovely one. Coordinate your schedules now ladies, because a #sisterwife vacation will be trending in no time! My bags are already packed for the next one!

How we all felt about leaving paradise
Kristin Ruthstrom
Kristin is a Lee’s Summit suburb transplant, after living in the Brookside and Plaza areas for over eight years. Raising three young boys with her husband, Jake, has helped her to embrace the messy, wild side of life where love is expressed in bear hugs and body slams. Professionally, she can be found teaching classes as an adjunct professor in the areas of Business, Marketing and PR. She is able to provide her students with applicable, real-life knowledge as she draws from several years working in the corporate sector. “Free time” (ha!, what's that again?) is spent on an occasional date night to favorite local restaurants, reading blogs on everything from home design to politics, riding her sweet beach cruiser bike and thinking of ways to convince her husband to do yet another home improvement project.