This morning I ran away....

[daydreamer]

Was it pms or a midlife crisis?  Does it really matter at this point?  The reasons...in short, I was being ignored by all except of course our dog and two cats...then their need for me was limited.  No one seemed to get that I was plain old tired of "giving."  Somehow my life became all about everyone else and nothing about me...nothing at all.

I gave them all one last shot last evening.  I tried to engage my husband in conversation but he had his nose buried in a new book, my son who usually would jump at the chance to go for a bike ride or something with good ol' mom, well he had plans with his friends...so I knock on my teenage daughter's door, she offers a reluctant "come in."  I walk into her room and she too is engrossed in a book.  So I lay down at the foot of her bed, content to just be in the presence of someone.  Oh, well...I was told I was invading her space, so I left...left with my mind made up that this morning was it.

I didn't leave a note.  I didn't take my cell phone.  I pocketed five hundred and twenty seven dollars and fifty cents...money that I had been saving to start a business.  I caught the first bus that routed me towards the train station.  It wasn't long that I was waiting on track nine, my overnight bag in hand and the funny thing was, there were two other mom's there as well.  I asked, "you running away from home as well?"  They nodded yes.  Amazing...who'd have thought this was the trend.

I asked you have a teenager in the house, a husband that has disconnected, a son that no longer really has much use for you.  One mom replied, "something like that."  The other just began to sob as she headed back towards the station.  "I can't do this."  She said.

This mom (whose name was Flora) well, we decided to head to Chicago for the day, to stir up a bit of trouble, have some fun and then return home maybe appreciating our lives and maybe our family would then appreciate us as well.

Millenium Station led us to Randolph Street.  Flora knew the city far better than I did considering it had been over fifteen years since I've lived there.  We began with a trip to the day spa for a bit of pampering.  I decided to charge it, after all my husband would be forced to pay some attention to me when the bill arrived in a month for two hundred and fifteen dollars tip included.

Flora opted for a mud treatment so I was forced to wait a bit.  From there we shopped for new outfits...she picked out something for me and I chose something outrageous for her.  The best part of it...the most amazing thing was, we laughed hysterically for most of the day.

We ate lunch with all of the suits in the Loop, viewed the most amazing art works at The Art Institute but the most toubling part came when it was time to catch the return train.  Flora decided she was never going back, that within a matter of hours she found herself again and was never going to lose that woman to picking up dirty socks, buying groceries, breaking up arguments between her kids.  I felt the very same temptation but I knew there would be way too much that I would miss out on.

I waved at Flora as the train pulled away and I couldn't help but wonder how many mom's ran away each day in the many cities in the United States in the world for that matter?  It made me wonder how many mom's ran away like I just did without ever actually leaving their homes...ran away maybe in communities such as Cafemom?  To all of you Flora's out there, I just would like to thank you for running away with me right now.  Wasn't it the most awesome experience? 

The most troubling reality however, is that I was never once missed.