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This weekend my husband and I drove to Chicago for an annual trip. He attends a workshop each year, while I visit with friends in the area and do a little shopping. We've done this every year for seven years now, although in recent years it has been a little more difficult to plan due to kids.

Cordy has only gone with us once. That was a disaster of a trip, even with my mom along to help me out. Cordy is not one of those kids who travels well - she can't sleep much in the car, doesn't like hotel rooms, and is usually cranky if she's off her schedule. After that one trip, my mother vowed to never come along with us again.

Last year, my mom stayed at our house with Cordy while we made the trek to Chicago. Everything went really well, and I enjoyed the chance to get a lot of sleep and some child-free time. But this year was more complicated due to Mira. While my mom loves spending the weekend with Cordy, she was less than thrilled at the idea of watching two children for three days. Maybe if Mira was older she wouldn't mind, but a seven month old is a needy creature, and my mom isn't getting any younger.

So we decided to take Mira with us while Cordy stayed home with her grandma. I was a little worried that Cordy might be upset this time. She's older now, so she might understand that we were choosing to take a trip without her. Even worse, she might get jealous that Mira was coming with us while she was left behind. All last week the guilt consumed me as I considered how I would feel if I was left behind while everyone else got to go have fun out of town.

Of course, while I was torturing myself with that guilt, I never stopped to consider that my personality and Cordy's are not the same. I love seeing new people and places and feel left out easily, but she's an introvert who loves staying close to home and surrounded by people she knows and loves. And while we would be gone for the weekend, she adores her grandma and begs to see her more often. (She generally sees her once a week.)

We left on Friday with little fanfare, and Cordy didn't seem to care when I explained that we would be gone for a couple of days. She ignored me as I said goodbye and turned all her attention to my mom. I called a few times during the weekend, checking in and maybe hoping that she missed me a little bit. But the report from my mom was that they were having a great time, with days filled with coloring, puzzles, books and games, snacks whenever she wanted them, and no set bedtime. She seemed to love being the center of attention again. In short, she was having a blast with grandma and hadn't asked for mommy or daddy at all.

When we got home this morning, Cordy led her grandma down the stairs to see us. She hugged me and smiled, then grabbed my mom's hand and said, "Grandma, can I have a waffle?"

I looked at my mom and laughed. "I guess you're still in charge," I said. Apparently I worried over nothing. Leaving Cordy at home with grandma was the best decision for all - I didn't spend the weekend stressed out, Cordy wasn't stressed out, and she and her grandmother had a chance to spend some quality time together without a needy little sister getting in the way.