Mom and Dad Get Away
By Paul Morrone, CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA
Working in the business of giving advice also gives me an opportunity to solicit advice from those that are older and wiser than me. I have the good fortune of having close relationships with many clients and affiliates who have their own children and grandchildren. Recognizing the incredible resource that was right in front of my face, I was more than happy to tap into the vast knowledge that many were willing to share as I embarked on my journey into parenthood. While there was always the inevitable joke about lack of sleep and the temporary mental instability that results from parenting a newborn, there were two pieces of advice that everyone universally agreed on. The first was simple and more a statement of fact – that you’re not going to know what the heck you’re doing those first couple of months, and that’s OK, you’ll just figure it out. The second piece of advice was to continue to take time to enjoy your marriage as well as your family by making time for just Jill and I to spend time together alone. You spoke, we listened.
Now that Kyle is old enough to stay overnight with my parents, we decided to capitalize on the opportunity and take our first mom and dad only trip. It would have been nice to fly to the Caribbean or jet-set to Italy, but we knew we had to be realistic. After ruling out NYC, Boston or any other cities, we decided to spend a couple of days in Newport, RI. In our over 7 years together, we have never spent time in Newport, which still surprises me given how near and dear the city is to Jill. As a graduate of Salve Regina, she spent four years of college in Newport and lived there for a period of time after graduation as well.
It was a perfect fit, offering everything we wanted in our time away: proximity to home (just in case something happened), great restaurants, fun nightlife and plenty of hotel options. We decided to stay at Gurney’s on Goat Island (formerly the Hyatt), which is just a short walk from downtown and Thames street. While the rooms were just meh, you’re really paying for the facilities. On site, there is a pool facing west overlooking the Newport Bridge, several restaurants and a deck to enjoy late-night drinks, not to mention the collection of hammocks and Adirondack chairs that line the waterfront where you can just sit and soak in the scenery. After nearly 12 months being tethered to home and a baby monitor, it felt like an oasis.
The best part was… we had two nights there. That meant a full day unencumbered with driving to/from Newport where we could wake up at our leisure with no agenda based around a napping schedule, diapers to change or meals to prepare. Even I was impressed with my ability to relax, and we laid by the pool, read books and relaxed until the sun started to fade over the bridge. That was a real feat as I’m usually the on-the-go type, but the down time was just what the doctor ordered. Top that off with some fresh seafood, lobster rolls and pasta and you have one happy couple. On our way out, we even found time to connect with friends at their home in Portsmouth and got one last taste of the baby-free life before heading back to reality.
There was a bit of irony in the whole trip, and I was warned that once we have some time away from Kyle, all we will do is talk about him while we were going. While we did find time to chat about other things, Kyle certainly came up in conversation – he was there in spirit. We used FaceTime with my parents and Kyle while we were gone and it was clear that he missed us. After nearly jumping on the phone when he saw our face, he immediately started crying when he realized it was only a picture. It was incredibly cute and heartbreaking at the same time.
Coming home was a bittersweet, although both Jill and I couldn’t wait to see the look on Kyle’s face when we walked in the door. When he woke up from his nap he was overjoyed to see both of us standing by the crib. He jumped right up and immediately started yelling and clapping his hands. Makes your heart melt!
