Parenting
IN THE
Pines
Vacation—All I Ever Wanted BY AMANDA ODEN UP UNTIL LAST WEEK, I had never spent a night without my children. People used to think I was exaggerating when I say the only time I’d ever leave my kids overnight was to go to the hospital and give birth to another baby, but it really was true. (With the exception of the one time, while I was seven months pregnant with my second child that I left my daughter overnight with my husband while I drove to Atlanta to see Beyoncé. But, I mean, come on, it was
36 | SAND& PINE MAGAZINE December 2021/January 2022
freaking Beyoncé!) Some of my hesitation to leave them overnight was my own anxiety and fears of something terrible happening while I was away. And some came from not living near a reliable family member who could babysit long enough for us to take a trip. And the rest came from having three very small kids in quick succession, which didn’t exactly leave a ton of money, time or energy to travel anyway.
