My husband and I weaved through crowds of fellow hurried travelers at the airport, making our way to our departing flight, and something was noticeably missing: our children.

It’s not that we forgot our three young daughters. We were on our way to Seattle for a long weekend getaway, to attend a friend’s wedding and to celebrate my 40th birthday. So we left them in the care of family and jetted off.

Aside from a couple times my husband and I went on special one-night staycations in Waikiki, this trip was the first time since I became a mommy I traveled away from my girls. We spent a whopping four days and three nights on vacation sans kids.

In the spirit of our romantic escape, I tried my best to make this experience all about us and to keep references about our daughters to a minimum. But I could not stop thinking about them.

At the top of the Space Needle, I imagined my girls pressing their little faces and hands against the glass at the observation deck, marveling at the tiny city below.

As we explored Pike Place Market, I pictured my daughters enjoying the landmark’s vibrant offerings — colorful fruits and vegetables, fragrant flowers, sweet and savory baked goods — and cracking silly jokes about the stinky fish stands.

Wherever we ate, I thought about the food my daughters would have devoured, like the scrumptious Belgian waffle at Collections Cafe.

As much as I missed my girls, it was nice to be free of our parental responsibilities and anxieties.

A walk in the city didn’t require us to pack as if going on a camping adventure, toting all that three girls might need for a day out. There were no frequent potty breaks. We didn’t have to endure any whining or bickering.

For the first time in a long time, we delighted in meals together throughout the trip without our daughters interrupting our conversations, which ironically were almost always conversations about our daughters.

We held hands as we walked, a rarity at home as typically there’s a little one between us — and one each beside us.

I cherished the quality time I had with my husband and by myself. I embraced the solitude and freedom that come with travel: I finished a book. I ate whatever I wished. I slept whenever I wanted.

I felt young again, losing myself in the dazzling artwork at Chihuly Garden and Glass and the sights of the city as a passenger on the light-rail train. It’s amazing how much more you can absorb when you have no one to worry about but yourself. It brought me back to my vacations abroad — to Paris, London and Madrid — before I married and had children.

Overall, the trip was a great reminder — especially now as I head into a new decade of life — that I am more than a mother and a wife.

I am a woman of many interests, passions and priorities that define me. I am a woman who enjoys serene strolls, appreciates a bargain buy, admires compelling artwork and loves a hearty meal. Not just in Seattle, but wherever I might be.

“She Speaks” is a weekly column by women writers of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@staradvertiser.com.