When I was 21, Spring Break consisted of an epic girlfriends’ road trip from Green Bay, Wisconsin, to Panama City Beach, Florida. We danced on tables, flirted with college boys, drank something out of a shoe (?), ordered “extra-large” margaritas, got tattooed, camped out by the beach, swam in a “fountain of youth,” and sang our way back home with the help of “mix tapes” we had created (one for each state we passed through.)
I don’t think back then I could have pictured how different my Spring Break would look in 2014 – or understand how it could be just as exciting.
Our three kids have gone away this week. They have split up to visit two different sets of grandparents, who are in the process of spoiling them within an inch of their lives.
Ian and I miss the little stinkers, FOR SURE. (I felt a sharp little pang of longing this morning when I came face to face with their smiles in the class pictures hanging from the fridge.)
We miss them – AND we are reveling in this “alone time” like kids in a candy store.
Today, I didn’t swim in an ocean, get a tattoo or dance on a table.
I also didn’t wipe anyone’s nose/face/butt or other body part, clean up spilled milk, police any sibling arguments, trip over little shoes left on the stairs, ask anyone for the 15th time to hang up their coat, struggle over 5th grade math homework or watch Sponge Bob.
Instead, I took the whole day off, slept in late, worked out, ate an incredible breakfast that Ian made in our unbelievably quiet and clean kitchen, went to Target ALONE, sang Les Mis music at the top of my lungs in the car without anyone asking me to stop or to change the song, painted my nails “Cross My Heart Red,” read my book, watched a little baseball and HGTV, and took a nap. Ian is about to make us a fancy cocktail, then we’ll maybe walk the dog, and have another quiet dinner for two before I head to the Civic Theatre for rehearsal tonight. If it were just a little warmer out, this would be a dream day.
This is our wild, crazy, spring break. WOOO-HOOO!
Thank you to my parents and in-laws for saving us babysitting money this week, for giving us a second honeymoon right in our own home, for giving our trio of Shepherd kiddos a great adventure away from home, and most of all, for giving us a chance to really, really miss them.
