Mom's weekend

Brad's out of town this weekend for a film festival in beautiful, sunny Cleveland. Normally, I'm all about having the house to myself, but I realized earlier this week that I just wasn't feelin' it. I fantasized about finding a girlfriend who was willing to skip town at the last minute and go to Chicago or something, but I'm still not quite up for big-city navigation, plus I'd have to find someone to watch the cats.

Suddenly, I had a brainstorm. Why not leave town for one night (so I could leave the cats alone)...and go somewhere fun with my closest girlfriend of all -- my mom?

Now, I say that half-jokingly, because while my mom and I are close in that familial sort of way, we've never been close in that "go on a roadtrip together" way. I've always been jealous of people like my friend K, who goes on a mother-daughter vacation every year and comes back refreshed, tan and slightly hung over. But not only is my mom not into the beach or the bar crawl, she also doesn't like to fly or, frankly, travel at all.

My mom and I did go on one trip together -- back in 1997, when I was a junior in high school. We drove from Cleveland to Columbus so I could go on a campus tour of Ohio State. My mom hates driving on the interstate and I'd just gotten my driver's license, so getting there and back was too white-knuckled to be considered a road trip.

But somehow, I managed to talk her into going on a last-minute trip with me! I'll believe it when she shows up to get me tomorrow, of course, but I think it's actually going to happen! We're going to a small town on the west side of the state called Saugatuck, which is famous for shopping, antiques and bed-n-breakfasts. (It's also famous for being a super gay-friendly town in one of the most conservative parts of the midwest, which makes things interesting and artsy.) I'll drive so there won't be any white knuckles, and we're staying in a cute little hotel with a continental breakfast and a heated indoor pool.

So who knows -- maybe this weekend will prompt some long-awaited female bonding! Wish us luck, and stay tuned for lots of mother-and-daughter photos.