Hello. Where are you?
Ladies, I’ve done it again.
I’ve abandoned my lovely husband and stepsons for a freelance gig a plane ride away. I’m back in San Francisco doing some TV work and it’s really (I have guilt) cutting into my writing time. My intention is to bring you up to speed with gritty details (if not now than very soon) and get back to the business of sorting out my stepmom angst. Especially as we head into the Mother of all holidays.
This is what I can tell you right now: I’m staying in a hotel room that comes with a King bed, a view of Pacific Heights and a maid that brings me fresh towels every morning. She also lines up my cosmetics in a very specific order and fluffs my pillows (there are seven).
I’ve been eating out and alone every night at this cozy little place on Chestnut Street where they bring me red Zin and either a tuna melt, chicken and apple salad or veggie chili. These items might sound like uninspired selections, but they are super tasty and comforting and each night I can’t convince myself to go anywhere else. I’m sure they (the same wait staff I order from every night) are wondering where this perfect stranger came from that they suddenly can’t get rid of. I’ve made a pact with myself not to go there for the next two nights and I’m already fretting about where tomorrow’s dinner will come from.
December is a magical time to be in San Francisco.
December is a magical time to be in San Francisco. The fog and cold feels appropriate and I am dressed accordingly in long white coat and scarf. Every awning and front door is decorated with twinkly lights and winter greens and the mood is predominantly festive and sentimental. The City is beautiful and it’s much easier at this time of year to ignore the underlying cruelty and desperation that slinks around every urban landscape.
If it sounds like a vacation, it is. While I miss The Husband and how he warms up our bed and is the sweetest thing to sleep next to (I’m wearing socks now to compensate for the loss of heat), I get to slip out of the married stepmom role and into a temporary, yet very familiar lifestyle: Single and independent. Spending ten hours a day as a career woman without family commitments or obligations. It’s an unusual opportunity. To go back. To stand in the past and reflect on the present.
If I hadn’t done this before, I’d be wondering which life I like more. I continue to return to Austin, so that should tell you something.
(Still, that doesn’t mean that I’m not looking forward to spreading out on the bed tonight and hogging every inch.)
Tags:San Francisco, stepmom, vacation
HA Izzy likes Izzy-time…. I used to have a job where I’d stay in a hotel at least 1 week every month. I relished the time that I spent away, I ate the food I wanted, I’d eat alone in restaurants and read books and drink wine. I LOVED it… I’m not saying that I didn’t like my home life, I just liked not being there sometimes. I like me… I like spending time alone. I like the breathing space.
Good for you Ms Rose… it seems that you’re comfortable enough with yourself to enjoy the down time, and in love, with your family and your life in Austin enough to want to keep it.
Exactly. Don’t we all need time that is just ours? I think every woman would say yes…if she’s being honest:) Not always to get…which is why I feel a little spoiled right now, even though I’m working my arse off.
IR
I haven’t had my coffee yet…
I meant to say, “NOt always easy to get..” Off to work.
It sounds wonderful! Good for you.
sounds decadent…even though it’s a business trip! what i wouldn’t give, for just one day…my own bed, room service, no one calling my name! ok…i’m jealous! have a fabulous time…i think you might have a few people, right now, living vicariously through you!
I’m off on my own business trip in a week and I’m looking forward to it, I must say. The big bed, all to myself… aaaahhhhhh. I can feel the relaxation setting in already. I will definitely miss My Hubby and my little ones, but the down time (even when I’m there for work) is wonderful every once in awhile. I wish I were going somewhere magical like SF, but it will be cold, cold, and more cold where I’m headed.
I wonder how you all feel about having your step children in your bed while you are away from home? Does it bother you at all? It makes me feel as if I should never go away for fear that my place at home is disintegrated, and I am replaced by my SS. This is totally irrational and probably quite selfish, but the fact my partner won’t listen to how much this hurts me actually makes me reconsider the whole relationship. I would love to know what you all think, because I’m lost!
Georgina,
How old are the kids and do the stepkids sleep alongside your partner? Or are they just sleeping in your empty bed? And what is your relationship like with your SS?