Oasis

Oasis. That’s probably not the first word that comes to mind if you’re talking about Baltimore, Maryland. But about four weeks ago, that’s just what it was for Danny and me. We had the opportunity to get away for 24 hours, and though Baltimore would not have been our destination of choice, it was where the event was being held that we were attending. 

On either end of the overnight trip, Danny’s work had him testing out the reclining options on flights from here to everywhere, and the kids had me testing out my patience. He saw the welcome signs to three countries and six cities, and I saw the parking lots of the football field, the volleyball gym, the orchestra auditorium, and the physical therapist’s office. He hardly slept at night and I could hardly get out of bed in the morning. Life was chaotically busy and even though Danny was on planes most of the time, we were more like ships in the night, passing with barely a perceptible wave from one bow to the other. 

It seemed impossible that we had the time to spare, but our mini getaway had been planned months in advance and it was finally time to go. If you are married, I probably don’t have to describe how wonderful it is when you and your spouse are going in the same direction. In our case, it was south by Southwest. Though there wasn’t a lot of elbow room (or foot room or aisle or luggage space) we were, at long last, literally stuck next to each other for the duration of the flight.  Not only were we going in the same direction, we were also facing the same direction: front, so Danny was spared a backlogged monologue of updates. 

Thanks to me pressing my right foot as hard as I could to the carpeted floor, we landed without incident.  The passengers really should have thanked me for all the driving hours I’ve put in with three teens learning the skill that prepared me for that flight. They didn’t have time though because we were the first ones to deplane and drive away in our UBER faster than you could say “Baltimore! What an oasis.” 

Our afternoon and evening together was so relaxing and peaceful. There were no commitments dictating our schedule. We had time to check in to the hotel, walk the waterfront, and take in a leisurely supper I didn’t have to cook. I don’t think my kids are reading this, but maybe don’t tell them how much we enjoyed the quiet? Actually, since I was now facing Danny, I was finally able to unload about a month’s worth of tidbits, so he may not have found it as quiet, but I bet he was thinking, “Baltimore equals bliss.”

Even though the event didn’t begin until 10:00 am, no alarms were needed because we’ve been parents for too long. But it was nice not to have to rush about in the morning, and it gave me enough time to eat more food than Danny thought he’d have to pay for. Listen, there’s always going to be two types of people: those who can eat one banana for breakfast and not be hungry all day and those who need to know exactly where and when their next meal is coming from, and then those two people marry each other. In my defense, I thought he said, “you can order whatever you want”, not “you can order it up front”! This isn’t the crux of the story, you guys, but if the takeaway is that Baltimore was a haven, even for hungry people, then I guess my point has been made. 

Anyway, the event went well for us. All we had to do was ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ for roughly five hours and dream big dreams, which honestly just made me hungry again. Tucked away on a side street near the hotel was a little Mexican restaurant that served the best taco salad I’ve ever eaten. As we ate, we discussed more of our hopes and dreams and ambitions and aspirations, wondering when we could seize the opportunity to put them into action (sorry 🙂). The hole-in-the-wall diner really highlighted the kind of paradise Baltimore can be for two people who had no choice in where the event was happening.

Once we were finished with our late lunch, we headed back to the airport, where Danny earned a personal best in how early he could be for a flight. We sat in the terminal for so long we were able to watch two other flights board from the same gate before it was our turn, reveling in our good fortune not to leave the marvelous city of Baltimore too soon. 

Alas, all good things must come to an end. The plane returning us to Boston was cleared for take-off. After roughly 24 hours in the oasis that was Baltimore, we were heading to Hudson, an asylum of a different sort, but we were happy and full and ready for home.

   ^{(This is the only photo I took during our time away. I was too busy respite-ing, or eating, to take any more.)}