Holiday guilt tripping

The youngest was horrified that I went out to dinner last night and abandoned her for two hours.

It’s ironic considering my blog post yesterday was about the kids disappearing to their rooms every night and leaving me on my lonesome.

Still, I felt guilty about leaving them. But it’s hard to pin down my former work besties, so I decided to live with it.

I’m glad I did. It got me out of my doldrums. I’ve had an emotionally tough few weeks on many fronts. I needed a laugh and a glass of wine with some kindred spirits.

As for the guilt, it’s a special variety you feel when you’re working while the kids are on school holidays. The eldest is fairly independent and does their own thing, but the youngest is a little more housebound … especially this holidays with a sprained ankle. (Though fortunately it’s on the mend.)

When I’m away all day, it seems a bit rough to not to be there at night either.

Normally my ex or I would try and take a bit of time off during the school hols, but he’s just started a new job and I’m about to head to Shanghai for two weeks. So neither of us had the flexibility.

Speaking of heading off … It’s been quite dazzling to look at my Facebook feed over the school hols. I have no idea how the country is still running with so many people swanning around France, Italy, Greece, Ireland, the UK, Croatia, Bali, Phuket, Fiji …

My eyes have been even greener than usual with jealousy.

Yeah, I know, I know, I’m going to Shanghai. But I’m not super dooper excited about the destination. Plus, it’s not really a “family” holiday …  and certainly not a “romantic” holiday. I’d much rather be having one of those … and not in China.

I’d love to go to New Zealand’s South Island, for example, and gawp at all the natural beauty.

And I’m desperate to have a swim in the ocean somewhere warm … I’m having the worst withdrawal symptoms from the sea.

But everyone is assuring me that Shanghai will be heaps of fun, and I’ll be spending it with a gaggle of lovely skipping mums.

The eldest is miffed about not coming along, after finding out they would only be required to spend four hours in a Shanghai gymnasium on the Sunday watching the youngest perform, with the rest of the trip being free time.

But I couldn’t really justify them taking two weeks off school to support a sibling. So I’ve been instructed to pick up some fake Supreme or Gucci gear as a souvenirs. I know what Gucci is, but I’ll need to Google Supreme before I leave the country and lose access to the outside world.

Any tips for Shanghai for me?

Song of the day: Madonna “Holiday”