I feel your pain. In fact, I'm so bad, that I will not go out of town at all unless its absolutely necessary. I just can't stand to leave my cats in the hands of a cat-sitter. I know it's stupid because I have a very lovable and reliable cat-sitter but somehow I just can't bring myself to do it. I'm sure your Mom will take good care of your babies and they will probably miss you too. 5 hours is a long way to drive just for a visit but you could phone. Don't laugh, I knew of someone who used to call home every day from work just to leave a message for the cats. I'm not quite that bad. Like Aly says, keep busy and before you know it your kitty will be in your loving arms again.