Vacationing with children can be joyous, great for bonding and creating memories, but it's never truly relaxing. It's exhausting. The week preceding an out-of-town trip is torture, trying to cram packing, rescheduling and extra work into your daily routine. The vacation itself centers around kid-friendly activities, some of which inevitably involve long lines and crankiness.

You come back feeling like you need a week to recover.

Ever since we became parents nearly eight years ago, we've never taken a trip without our children -- not so much as a weekend away together.

There are three easy explanations for this: Guilt. Fear. Loneliness.

If you work and leave your children to do so during the week, it's harder to justify leaving them when you want to relax, as well.

A separation by choice -- not one caused by the necessity of work -- seems selfish.

And, there's always irrational fear to back up guilt. What if we both die in a plane or car crash? Are we willing to take the (remote) chance of orphaning our children for an extended period of uninterrupted couple time?

And, lastly, there's our self-interested desire to simply want them around. For years, it never even crossed my mind to leave them behind because we would miss them so much. Would we have anything else to talk about without them around? How could I enjoy a vacation when I would spend most of my time worrying about them?

In the couple of years of marriage before children, we loved traveling together and did so often. Apparently, we were once able to entertain ourselves without the offspring. Maybe we needed to rediscover this skill.

Parenting experts say adult-only travel is crucial for grown-up bonding. In the endless errands and task-driven activities of daily life, it's too easy to neglect our most intimate relationship. Once in a while, parents need a time-out to reconnect. Allegedly, we will be happier when we return, rested and recharged. Perhaps, being more relaxed makes us more open to remembering what made our relationship feel complete even before we became parents. It's healthy for children to see parents prioritize their marriage, as well.

Once this idea of a childless vacation took hold, I could not stop daydreaming about the possibilities:

I would refuse to eat in any restaurant that serves a chicken nugget.

I could read a book on a beach without worrying that a child might be drowning in the blue waves.

We could smile sympathetically as we passed by the weary families forcing one another to appreciate an age-inappropriate museum exhibit.

We would not step foot in an amusement park.

And, just maybe, we would get a chance to sleep in.

I had to find a way to rationalize this trip, giving us permission for this indulgence.

In their short lives, our children have taken many trips with us to several cities -- most of which were chosen specifically for the child-friendly attractions. But why do 5- and 7-year-olds set our travel agendas so often? We deserve a turn.

Next month marks our 10-year wedding anniversary. I've convinced my husband we ought to celebrate with an adult-only getaway. (It didn't take much convincing.) We probably won't have a chance to take this trip until later in the year because it will involve juggling several people's schedules, but I'm committed to making it a reality.

The children can spend a few days with their grandparents, who adore them and vice versa, and be surrounded by cousins, aunts and uncles. When visiting family, they are so wrapped up in playing with their cousins, they barely notice us even when we are around.

And we can buy two plane tickets -- instead of four -- to a place where the high-pitched whine of SpongeBob Squarepants shall never be heard in our hotel room.