The Joy of Spring Break

For the Traditional Calendar schools in the Wake County Public School System, we are enjoying Spring Break this week. Because of all the higgledy-piggledy weather we have endured this Winter, our vacation started today instead of Friday. That's ok with me because our Spring Breaks are literally brakes. We stop. We veg out. We eat junk food. We hang out in our pajamas. We watch TV, movies and play on the Wii. We play Legos, create with the Rainbow Loom, play countless outdoor games and plant some bulbs in our much neglected garden. We take slow walks. We do not follow a schedule and we don't make iron clad plans. We kind of "play it by ear" as my Mom-in-Law often says. 
We are excited to take a quick trip to visit Grammy, Papa and Aunt Cathy this week. We will stop on the way down and visit our dear friend, Sheri, who lives in Greenville, NC and is affectionately known as "The Other Woman". She loves my husband to pieces and tolerates me. Just kidding, sort of. Sheri has been watching over David since he was an elementary school lad who bonded with her son, Chris, over football, basketball, and baseball and later, bars, babes, beers and beaches. Chris departed our lives much too early but Sheri remains tightly ingrained in our family tree.


Spring Break Whoop!

Grammy and I chatted about things we could do when we come down to Chocowinity and we happily decided we will see what each day brings. Sadie will be joining us this week, so her schedule will most likely dictate our schedule. But the beauty of these kinds of visits are all the possibilities that lie before us. We can stroll along the beautiful river in Little Washington, watching the boats dock and imagining the trips we would take on our pretend vessel. We can go to Scoops for an ice cream treat. We can go to Goose Creek to walk the trails, watch the wildlife and welcome the season change. We can take Sadie to the dog park to frolic among her furry friends. We can play imagination games with Aunt Cathy (who is sheer genius with her ability in this area). We can sit on the back deck, watching the birds and squirrels visit the bird feeders. We can wave to the optimistic golfers that drive off the 15th tee and hope they miss the sand traps, gullies and water that taunt the people chasing a little, white, dimpled ball. We can play Monkey in the Middle, football, soccer, catch or tag in the front yard. We can visit Mr. Macho, or Mr. Nacho as Josh says, a sweet miniature Grey Hound that lives across the street. We can play telephone at the dinner table and laugh ourselves breathless. Or we can just sit and visit. Pretty sure that's not a viable option, but an option nevertheless.
My neighbors have a toddler and an infant in their care. This past weekend the husband enjoyed a boys' trip to Vegas while Mom stayed home with the children. On Sunday, she popped over for a bit and I asked her how things were going. She smiled and said, "I know he's is enjoying himself." She was quiet and then added, "And I am enjoying the break from our daily schedule, too. I have napped when the children nap. I have watched TV without guilt. We have just gone with the flow.". They had put on the brakes. And they were happy. Granted, they will be just as happy when Daddy returns, but an alteration to our schedule is sometimes a much needed happy boost. When we don't watch the clock, when we are not slaves to a jam packed schedule, when we release our responsibilities and allow the joy of laid back living to seep in, when we just say today, "We are going to play it by ear.". And a whoosh of relief covers your body and your soul.
So, as I look forward to an unscheduled and mostly unplanned week, I notice the built up stress is slowly leaving my shoulders. I feel a smile sneak upon my face. I close my eyes, stretch my arms out slowly over my head, breathe deeply and hear the rising sounds of children with too much time on their hands. Ah, the downside to putting on the schedule brakes, but this too shall pass. And within a few moments, we will be on our way to writing our own story of Spring Break 2014. Let the fun begin!