My Dream Came True! An Overnight Trip Alone with My Eldest Daughter

I really want to go!
But it's a place that's hard to visit on a day trip...

After agonizing over it for days, I finally worked up the courage to ask my husband.

"Would it be okay if I went on an overnight trip?"

In the 25 years since my second daughter, Yu, was born, I have never spent a night away from her.
If I had to say, the only time was 19 years ago when I gave birth to my son, and that was at the hospital.

I have stayed overnight for family trips, my second daughter's school field trips, and while accompanying her during hospital stays, but those were all with her.
Of course, my husband has stayed away many times for work and leisure.

I've been on many day trips with my eldest daughter, my son, and friends, but when it comes to staying overnight, I still hesitate.
My husband takes good care of our second daughter, but he says,he doesn't know the little nuances of how to handle things.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not confident about staying overnight."

My husband said apologetically, so no matter how far away my errands were, I always made sure to return home the same day.
If that wasn't possible, I had no choice but to give up on going.

Since that was the norm, I had lived my life until now without feeling too restricted.

But this time,

"It's your dream, right? You've worked hard for a long time, so you can go. It's fine, go ahead. I'll do my best to look after Yu."

My husband readily agreed.

I'm worried, but I thought this might also be a step toward our mutual growth, so I decided to accept his offer and go on the trip.

I felt lonely and sad about going alone, so I invited my eldest daughter, who had just gotten married. Actually, I had decided in my heart that if I were ever given such an opportunity, I would invite her.

Without hesitation, she said, "Oh, Mom, that's amazing! I'll go with you!"

The awards ceremony had been a goal of mine for a long time.

Over the past two years, I created works again and again, challenged myself, and was rejected.
The notification of "winning a prize" never arrived.
There were days when I felt terribly depressed on my own, staring at an empty mailbox.
Even when I happened to win a small prize, the ceremony was canceled due to COVID, and I had felt frustrated until now.

But this time, it was finally being held.
I really wanted to go to that extraordinary place far away.


And besides,it would be my first overnight trip with just my eldest daughter.
Actually, that had been my dream for many years.

Traveling with my married eldest daughter felt fresh and ticklish, with a different sense of distance than when she lived at home.
The long time on the Shinkansen was our chat time. Sitting side-by-side made it surprisingly easy to talk.

We talked about her newlywed life, her husband, the wedding and honeymoon, the baking she's into, and her work.
And about the future.

I got to hear so much while giggling, things I hadn't been able to listen to slowly because I was always rushing around.

I finished changing my second daughter's clothes and cleaning her up, and left home around 3:00 PM, so I didn't arrive at my destination until after 9:00 PM.

It's a quiet port town.
After dropping our bags at the hotel, my eldest daughter and I went to a nearby convenience store.
When we stepped outside in light clothing, the night was already quite cold.

"This ice cream tastes like sweet potato! Should I get it?"
"That looks delicious! I'll have the same one, Mom."

Even if it's cold, ice cream is the way to go!

I wonder how long it's been since I've been to a convenience store at night.
It's fun to be able to wander around the store without worrying about the time. I felt excited by items that weren't even particularly rare.

"Mom's buying, so put whatever you want in the basket, go ahead."
"Are you sure? Haha, we're just going to sleep now, so water is all I need."

I buy ice cream, water, and some sparkling water too.
I don't know why, but I'm just in the mood for something fizzy.

After eating ice cream in the room and taking turns in the bath, the time came where we didn't have to do anything at all.
I was surprisingly bored.
I felt like I had nothing to do.

Usually, this is a time when I'm moving around without stopping for even a minute.
Feeling restless, I turned on the TV without really watching it and flopped onto the bed.

Usually, I'm finally done taking care of my second daughter around the time the date changes.
I always think about how nice it would be to fall asleep right after getting out of the bath, but when the time actually comes, I still can't fall asleep.


I sent a LINE message to my husband, and he replied,
"Don't worry. Yu is asleep!"

Not bad! What a good girl!
Once I felt relieved, I was suddenly overcome with sleepiness.

In the middle of the night, my eldest daughter in the next bed suddenly spoke out loud.

"Wow! That looks delicious!"

Was she talking in her sleep?
Hehe, I wonder what kind of dream she's having.
I burst out laughing all by myself.

It seems like a happy dream, which makes me happy as a mother.
I don't think I've slept next to my eldest daughter since she was in the lower grades of elementary school.
I felt so happy to have been given this time.

The next day, we spent most of our time at the awards ceremony, so we couldn't do much sightseeing.
Even so, for someone like me who rarely leaves the city I live in, everything I saw was interesting and fascinating.

At the big city station, I walked right behind my eldest daughter. If I were alone, I would have gotten lost.
I was clearly a country bumpkin, taking pictures of even the trains and the station, and my eldest daughter laughed with a look of resignation.
That made me incredibly happy.

When I returned home late at night, my second daughter was smiling with a cheerful face.
My husband looked exhausted and apologized to me.

"Sorry, Yu slept for about 18 hours straight from last night until 5 p.m. today. I don't think she'll sleep tonight."

I see, so while I was away, my second daughter helped her father by sleeping!
Yu is truly amazing!

Even so, it seems my husband was running around all day dealing with unfamiliar housework and taking care of our second daughter.

"Thanks! Go get some sleep! Leave the rest to me!"

And so, that night, I stayed up all night with my second daughter.
While listening to back number's songs...

The overnight trip with my eldest daughter became a great experience and a source of confidence for me, as well as for my husband, my second daughter, and our whole family.
Next, I'd love to go on an overnight trip with my son, just the two of us.