What we don’t have, we long for the most.  For someone who works out of town all week, it’s the thought of being home sleeping in his own bed. For the serviceman stationed overseas, it’s the soft touch of his wife’s hand, or maybe her sweet scent. To a couple who are in the middle of raising several kids, it’s a simple moment or two alone together…which leads me to the heart and soul of this blog.

What if you could spend one full weekend, alone with your spouse, being able to do anything or go anywhere, knowing your kids were completely safe with another set of parents whom you trusted completely… and all you had to do is return the favor?  The only rule is…you have to return in 48 hours.

Let’s add a little icing to the cake…what if you were able to do this once a year? Somebody pinch me.
We called it the once-a-year-weekend-extravaganza-dream-come-true… as we pitched it to our friends next door.  Or in other words…Kid-Free-Weekend-Swap.

We offered to watch their kids for the entire weekend, who by the way, did I mention lived right next door, in exchange for…you guessed it, vice versa on a different weekend.

As good as this sounds, the reality was even better…much better. It was an idea born in heaven.  Since we lived right next door to each other, both houses were available to whomever had the kids…talk about convenience.

It couldn’t have been any sweeter.  Just think of it…we had two experienced adults who we knew and completely trusted, looking after our bunch for a full 48 hours while we did…anything we pleased.  Yes, complete ecstasy from Friday afternoon till Sunday afternoon.

It was not only perfect for us adults but for the children as well…they were best of friends and looked every bit as forward to that weekend as we did.  As I said…it was indeed an idea born in heaven.

Let the truth be known, we got the better end of the deal because we had twice as many children.  But because two of ours were old enough to help watch the younger ones, it all equaled out.  At least our friends were nice enough to let us think so.

Even to this day, I can’t think about the good old days when all eight of us were living under one roof without remembering those wonderful weekends when once a year we got to catch our breath just hanging out and being with each other.

Yes, Ill never forget our annual Kid-Free-Weekend-Swap.  It was marvelous…even though most of our conversations were about…you guessed it…our kids. Go figure.
Thank you Tom and Suzanne.

Bill Peak
Subscribe to Dad’s Wisdoms by Email