“We both didn’t believe in marriage. But here I was, before my flight back to Germany, talking marriage to a guy from the other side of the world I’d only known a little over a year. I couldn’t picture life without him. I couldn’t ask myself in 10 years, ‘What would have happened?'”
‘I went on Tinder to find a snowboarding buddy. ‘May I ask you on a real date?’ My Visa was about to expire, we didn’t speak the same language, and I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend!’: Long-distance couple tie the knot, ‘Never give up on love’
‘When I say I need a break, it’s because I am breaking. A break so I can put my pieces back together, and be the mother I want to be.’: Mom explains what ‘I need a break’ really means
“I’m not saying I don’t love my family. I’m not saying I wish I didn’t have children. I’m saying going to the toilet with an audience, every time, can get tiresome. That shaving my lady bits without an audience would be ace. I need a break from being needed, so I can just feel like me.”
‘I love my kids, but I don’t miss them when I get a break. I look forward to it.’: Mom says ‘loving time without your kids doesn’t make you a horrible mother, it makes you human’
“I went out with a friend last weekend for a late dinner. When I arrived, she asked where my kids were. ‘Oh, they’re at their grandparents for the night.’ And she said, ‘Oh, that must be hard, you must miss them!’ I thought to myself, ‘Not really!’ It’s important for me to remind myself that I am a person. I am not just ‘mom.’ I am so much more.”
‘Tonight, my husband took the kids to a movie. ‘Do something you enjoy.’ Suddenly, I couldn’t think of anything. I walked into the bathroom and didn’t recognize myself.’: Mom says ‘it’s a journey to get back to who you used to be’
“I had spent all this time looking forward to a break from my kids and husband, I hadn’t really thought about what I would do when I was finally alone. I walked into the bathroom and just stood there, staring at myself. ‘Okay, now what?’ I didn’t even recognize myself. I have been so busy being mom, I couldn’t remember who I was before that.”
‘My son starts to scream. This angel comes to the back and says, ‘You look like you need a break,’ and holds him for the rest of the flight.’
“We were standing in the security line, on the verge of tears. When I said thank you to both of them, they said, ‘Don’t you worry, we’re going to make sure you get on that flight.’”
‘I used to be the wild girl, could have 4 or 5 drinks and be dancing like no one’s watching. I had confidence to talk to anyone, had more energy than one should.’
“I am invisible. And that can hurt. There are still parts of the old me that I miss. You are born alone, spend years developing who you are, becoming an independent woman… and then suddenly you become someone’s mom, someone who is too exhausted to enjoy life.”
‘It’s the BEST THING I’VE DONE YET! She forever wants to be held, and now I get my break.’
“Let me tell you, it WORKS!”
