Usually, around this moment in my day, I am pairing shoes, matching coats with backpacks, launching a dirty faces search party, writing checks for lunch/tuition/school pictures/Brownie dues/fundraisers, arranging Aidan’s hair or whipping Sammy’s stubborn cowlick into temporary, futile submission, signing notes sent home by teachers, filling out permission slips, finding missing library books, tieing shoes, changing Joel who is famous for unloading right before we need to go somewhere, helping Tommy stock his pockets with toy cars and engines, cleaning Ryley’s astoundingly dirty glasses, suddenly remembering that I need to get dressed too, doling out Zippy Zoo chewable vitamins, rounding up the dog, warming up the minivan (weather demanding), finding the missing mitten or hat, refereeing arguments, making the grocery list, starting the dishwasher, putting coats on the little ones, prodding the big kids to put theirs on, telling them “no, you have to wear it!”, adding “and your mittens too!”, adding “don’t look at me like that”, adding “let’s go, it is Monday…and we don’t want to be late…”

Spring break isn’t just for the kids. I think I am looking forward to this week more than they are. It will bring its challenges but for the most part it will be a fun week. It is nice to be together when the pressure to go places and get things done isn’t so intense.