There aren’t that many April vacations, in the overall scheme of things. And this is the last one where I’ll have an eleven year old, a seven year old, and the last full week that I’ll have a three year old. As luck would have it, it was also the last week that I’d have a fifteen year old, two twelve year olds and a couple of bonus eight year olds as well. It was that kind of week – one where my house bubbled over with kids and chaos and I gave up somewhere around Wednesday night trying to keep the house clean.
My life is relatively hectic. There’s not a lot of hang out and read, or relaxing with a cup of coffee or taking a nap. There’s a lot of running, running, running everywhere, and a to-do list that keeps getting longer. But there was a time in my life when it was a lot calmer, when my days were a blur of midnight feedings, and diapers and napping children, and I kept telling myself that it was all just a stage, and tried to enjoy it as much as I could. I’m doing that now – even though I’m in the car more often than not, and I’ve got three busy kids and a husband who works retail (with hours all over the place) and one car – it’s just the stage I’m at now. And the day will come when I miss it. Just like I miss that two a.m. nightly get up and rock the baby stage…
In the end, we didn’t do a whole lot of actual stuff this week. Went out to dinner once, on Tuesday night. We went to Pinecroft Dairy (home of the $2 kids meal on Tuesdays) and then stopped by the carnival at the Greendale Mall. Wednesday, we picked up Glennys from up in NH, and Thursday night, all four girls (stepdaughters, Jessie and Glennys) slept at my sister’s house for the night.
Sam learned to ride his bike, which was notable. Hugely so – because Sam’s a kid who really gets anxious about trying new things and failing at them. But he was determined to ride, and no matter how many times he fell (and he fell a lot), he kept getting back on the bike. I was so proud – not just that he learned, but the whole process of learning to ride went really, really well. We spent time with friends, and were able to play outside most of the time.
April vacation is a good preview of summer. It’s almost like a little tease – this is what your life will be like in a few short weeks. And while it makes me tremble a little bit (because seriously, my house is a disaster right now), mostly I’m just really looking forward to it.
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