I’m so excited to officially launch Time Out for Theta Mom Thursday! For those of you visiting for the first time, the goal is to grab one hour of time within one week to do whatever you want…without the kids. It’s such an amazing proposition, I know! To join us, on Thursday post how you spent your “time out” (add my button from the right side bar or link to me) and then be sure to stop here to link up and meet other Theta Moms to see how they spent their time out!

So, I received a phone call from a really good friend of mine. I’ve known her since I was in 5th grade. We grew up together, went to school together, and stayed friends throughout college and beyond. She lives in Maryland with her husband and adorable little girl. But, we don’t get to see each other that often because we live in different states. So you can imagine my surprise and excitement when she called to tell me she was in New Jersey, spending a week down the Jersey Shore with her family! Can I get a WOOT WOOT?

As we were talking, she asked me to come over to their shore house for the day so we could go to the beach together with the kids.

With the kids.

Mmmmmm, I thought for a moment…..dragging my kids to the beach when it’s 1,000 degrees outside, lugging 50 pounds of their apparatus for one lousy hour at the ocean, calming a screaming baby and running after a wondering toddler, doing this alone because the hubs is working…and, oh yes, I would be breaking the most important “Time Out” rule (no kids) anyway…

Upon thoughtful consideration (that actually lasted a whole five seconds), I immediately explained my dilemma to her. And for the record, going to the beach with the kids without the help of my husband would not have been fun for me, nor appropriate for my time out!

I quickly responded, “Jess, how about you go to the beach with your family and I’ll come for a visit after 7:00 PM or so, when all the kids are in bed.

It was settled. I couldn’t wait to see one of my closest friends to catch up with her and talk for hours without any interruptions!

That evening, I drove down to her shore house, greeted her family and we immediately began chatting over some chips and salsa in the kitchen. It was one of those perfect summer nights. That fresh, salty air was coming in through the open windows, specks of sand from the beach could be found throughout the floor and felt on the bottom of my bare feet, and the idea that summer was still trying to hang on was so evident. Being there was total relaxation. Summer, one of my favorite seasons…

Nope, it was just me, one of my closest friends, a bottle of wine, and some rocking chairs on the porch overlooking the water at the Jersey Shore…and lots and lots of girl talk.