I Abandoned My Family to Live in Costa Rica for 3 Months — And It Saved My Life
Being a “martyr mom” was only harming me.
I arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica, at midnight. A taxi from the airport carried me down a long, dark highway until we reached the small town I’d be living in for the next three months.
The driver drove straight past the central plaza and then bumped onto an unpaved road. Bouncing along for another ten minutes, we finally hit the cluster of guesthouses I’d be taking care of for the summer.
The owner was away on business. All I had to do in exchange for free rent was to clean up after the guests after their stay.
How was that any different than what I already did at home? Back home in Los Angeles, I was in charge of taking care of three people.
Caring for my two children was one thing. Spoon-feeding my husband was quite another.
My husband was depressed and rarely got out of bed. I washed his clothes, made his meals, and carried his dirty plates out of our bedroom back to the sink to wash them.
I was his live-in maid — and I was sick to death of it.
My seeming act of “selfishness” was really one of self-preservation.
