Earlier this month, my 10-year-old twins went to sleepaway camp for the first time — the same Southern California camp I attended for 11 summers in the ’80s and ’90s. It’s a place where I know magic happens, and I knew it would be an important (and hopefully also joyful) rite of passage.
There were nerves, of course. My son worried he wouldn’t know anyone and might struggle to make friends. I worried they wouldn’t brush their teeth or wear adequate sunscreen — typical mom fare. But ultimately, I knew this would help them build independence. And as sentimental as I felt about watching them take this leap, I also realized this rare moment presented a window of opportunity for my husband and me — one we hadn’t had in years.
So we booked a grown-up getaway to Las Vegas while they were at camp, aiming to reclaim a little space for ourselves during a rare window of opportunity. As any parent of young kids will tell you, carving out time as a couple is a constant struggle.
We each travel for work individually, but getting away together is nearly impossible between school, homework, extracurriculars, and emotional support (not to mention physical childcare). The logistics of parenting leave little room for spontaneity — or romance.
But with our kids fully supervised and immersed in summer camp life, we had five glorious days to remember what it feels like to be self-actualized people — not just parents.
We let ourselves luxuriate, and food was a highlight
We decided to spend two of those nights in nearby Las Vegas, staying at Crockfords, the most luxurious of the three hotels within the Resorts World complex. It felt elevated from the moment we stepped into the serene, artfully designed lobby.
Both nights, we enjoyed dressing up for dinner. We ate at Nobu in Caesars first night, and the second night, we indulged in dinner at Stubborn Seed, from Michelin-starred chef Jeremy Ford, before heading to see Nas perform with the Las Vegas Philharmonic at the Encore Theater — a genre-defying experience that felt both exhilarating and intimate. We were fully present. And honestly, it felt like a revelation.
At brunch, we snagged a table at Pinky’s by Lisa Vanderpump inside the Flamingo, a delightfully over-the-top spot that leans into glamour; yes, I had an espresso martini before noon. Afterward, we walked over to the new Go Pool, Flamingo’s dayclub-style adults-only pool party, and set up shop in a shaded cabana. At one point, the DJ shouted out all the parents who’d left their kids at home — and we exchanged a knowing smile.
We recharged individually and as a couple
We spent a couple’s afternoon at the expansive Awana Spa, where sprawling co-ed pools and lounges provided a soothing backdrop for tackling topics big and small. While we were there, we even had a breakthrough about a long-simmering plan to expand our house — the kind of epiphany that can only happen when you can hear yourself think for more than five minutes in a stretch.
We had long, uninterrupted conversations. We gambled (well, I did — I’d say it’s my guilty pleasure, but I feel no shame), ate fabulous meals, and enjoyed the kind of indulgent, unstructured hours that feel impossible when you’re deep in the daily grind of parenting.
All the while, we were getting photo updates from the camp app. I scanned each image for signs of either joy or homesickness, and was relieved to see the kids grinning, making new friends, and stringing up freshly dipped tie-dye, just as I had done. They were more than OK — they were thriving.
By the time we returned, we felt recharged — not just individually, but as a couple. That reconnection was badly needed, and we knew it. The next day, we picked up the kids from camp and saw they’d grown in just five days — a little taller somehow, and a lot more confident.
Our grown-folks-only Vegas trip was the best decision we made all summer. Letting our kids have their own adventure gave them a chance to grow — and gave us permission to do the same.
I’ve come to believe that good parenting isn’t just about pouring everything you have into your children. It’s also about preserving and nurturing the bond that created your family in the first place. When we take time to recharge, we come back to our kids with more patience, more presence, and more gratitude. We parent better when we feel like whole people.
For us, that meant two days in Las Vegas — poolside cocktails, roulette tables, long conversations under neon lights. It might not sound like the most traditional form of self-care, but it felt like exactly that — and it was just the type of jolt we needed.
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