Spring Broken
So spring break 2012 has passed. Each year I think maybe this will be the year we do spring break right. The year everyone gets to do something they want to do, the year everyone is entertained and returns home refreshed and ready for the downward slide to summer.
Maybe next year.
I should've known we were off on the wrong foot when, the first morning of spring break, Bryon informed me he had taken the entire week off and was ready for a series of day trips with the kids. I, accepting that we had made no plans, did not take a single day off so for me the first couple days of break were spent surreptitiously checking email in between the park and the mall.
Midweek we promised the kids we'd take them to Six Flags - us and a million other families across the metroplex. We were already running late when we pulled out of the driveway at 10:30, and when I checked the street over my shoulder, I realized our neighbor's cat Izzy had been hit by a car. Izzy was a little lover who spent as much time at our house as next door. He had a voracious appetite, often signaled his entrance in the house with a loud howl, loved Tag the Dog, and most of all loved kisses.
It felt a little like that scene in Vacation where the Griswalds leave their dead aunt on the porch and drive off so their family fun isn't interrupted. I didn't want the kids to see Izzy so Bryon distracted them while I got him out of the street and 'contained' him until we could get ahold of our neighbors or get home from Six Flags. (Please note that Izzy received a lovely burial later that day, complete with flowers and rocks.)
In hindsight Abby and I should've stayed home. She got tired and the rides that appealed to her were miles from the rides that appealed to the boys. Luckily, everyone was satisfied by the $40 ice cream. At the end of the day we'd spent nearly $400 for Jake to ride three rides, Sam to ride two and Abby to ride one, a teacup ferris wheel that lasted about five minutes.
The next day we were packing for a trip to Grandma Fran's. For once I was as excited as the kids because Grandma and Grandpa were keeping them for the rest of the week. I was nearly giddy with the thought of a quiet, clean house. Movies, dinners, sleep!
And then Bryon found lice in Abby's hair. And Jake's hair. So in the 12 hours before they left for Grandma's, everybody de-liced, I washed all the bedding, bought all new clothes for them to pack, and started the marathon of laundry that continues to this moment.
The best part of spring break for me - and I say this with love in my heart - was three days without the kids. Despite the continual laundry (upwards of 40 loads I think) Bryon and I slept, worked in the yard, and ate every meal out. We didn't run the dishwasher once. I didn't watch a single episode of Clone Wars or Winx Club. I read the Sunday paper.
And when Sunday night came around I was terribly excited to see the kids and ready for the upcoming week.
Maybe spring break was a success after all.
Maybe next year.
I should've known we were off on the wrong foot when, the first morning of spring break, Bryon informed me he had taken the entire week off and was ready for a series of day trips with the kids. I, accepting that we had made no plans, did not take a single day off so for me the first couple days of break were spent surreptitiously checking email in between the park and the mall.
Midweek we promised the kids we'd take them to Six Flags - us and a million other families across the metroplex. We were already running late when we pulled out of the driveway at 10:30, and when I checked the street over my shoulder, I realized our neighbor's cat Izzy had been hit by a car. Izzy was a little lover who spent as much time at our house as next door. He had a voracious appetite, often signaled his entrance in the house with a loud howl, loved Tag the Dog, and most of all loved kisses.
It felt a little like that scene in Vacation where the Griswalds leave their dead aunt on the porch and drive off so their family fun isn't interrupted. I didn't want the kids to see Izzy so Bryon distracted them while I got him out of the street and 'contained' him until we could get ahold of our neighbors or get home from Six Flags. (Please note that Izzy received a lovely burial later that day, complete with flowers and rocks.)
In hindsight Abby and I should've stayed home. She got tired and the rides that appealed to her were miles from the rides that appealed to the boys. Luckily, everyone was satisfied by the $40 ice cream. At the end of the day we'd spent nearly $400 for Jake to ride three rides, Sam to ride two and Abby to ride one, a teacup ferris wheel that lasted about five minutes.
The next day we were packing for a trip to Grandma Fran's. For once I was as excited as the kids because Grandma and Grandpa were keeping them for the rest of the week. I was nearly giddy with the thought of a quiet, clean house. Movies, dinners, sleep!
And then Bryon found lice in Abby's hair. And Jake's hair. So in the 12 hours before they left for Grandma's, everybody de-liced, I washed all the bedding, bought all new clothes for them to pack, and started the marathon of laundry that continues to this moment.
The best part of spring break for me - and I say this with love in my heart - was three days without the kids. Despite the continual laundry (upwards of 40 loads I think) Bryon and I slept, worked in the yard, and ate every meal out. We didn't run the dishwasher once. I didn't watch a single episode of Clone Wars or Winx Club. I read the Sunday paper.
And when Sunday night came around I was terribly excited to see the kids and ready for the upcoming week.
Maybe spring break was a success after all.
posted by Romine Family at 9:52 AM
