As You Like It: Vacation Idyll

There’s an old cliché that claims, “A change is as good as a rest.” Last week I discovered that a better adage for me would be, “My kids are as good as a rest.” I had the week between Christmas and New Year’s off and I needed it. The fading winter light tends to affect my general disposition — there are certain people who might even call me permanently winter-cranky! — but this year I felt the worst I had in years. The last day of school I was on the verge of tears, unable to even zip my own coat — a co-worker had to help me. I felt like a toddler in pre-school who just wanted to get home to mommy.

Just knowing that you have a vacation coming up shortens your fuse. Any other day you might be able to deal with life’s distractions, but seeing the finish line up ahead, the vacation-light at the end of the work-tunnel, rips through your usual defenses. It was with great relief that I got on that train home.

Mariel had already been back from Arizona for a week, but I hadn’t been able to enjoy her while working everyday. But now I had a whole week to relax with my youngest, and Lisa was coming home for a few days too so life was good. Problem was, Lisa was feeling as stressed as I was since she was finishing final papers at the end of her semester. So scheduling and exhaustion nearly sabotaged all our plans.

We were trying desperately to cram everything in — us, friends, some work and errands — and it wasn’t working very well. To top it off, December 27 was Lisa’s birthday, so that engendered some finagling as well. She had originally told us that she wouldn’t be with us on her birthday, so Mariel and I had planned crammed days accordingly. But then Lisa e-mailed us to change dates, and I’m afraid Mariel and I over-reacted just a bit. I, so self-righteously, called Lisa to tell her a thing or two about responsibility — don’t we moms do that so well?! — and that camel’s straw caused her to burst into tears. Isn’t that every mother’s dream, to make their kid cry? I felt like something you would find under a rock.

After much sniffling and abject apologies we assured each other that we would work it all out and spent a few hours rearranging and rescheduling our ridiculously busy lives. And then Sunday it began to snow. And snow. And snow. We hunkered down and figured we would see what Monday would bring. And it brought more snow. I confess I don’t think that I was ever so happy to see the white stuff. I got up in the morning, looked out my window and smiled a great big smile. My dream of locking my family up so that we would all have to stay home together had actually come true.

I came into the kitchen whistling and Steve and Lisa burst out laughing.

“Gee, I guess you’re kind of happy about this blizzard,” Steve said.

I couldn’t deny it. “Yes, I guess I am!”

I had to laugh. As usual, we had all made and remade our so-very-important plans while nature did whatever she desired. She must have been laughing her sides off at our mortal angst.

The next two days were declared pajama days. We were lucky that we had power, plenty of food, no giant waves were lapping at our house, and we had us. We napped, ate, read, played games — Bananagrams became a favorite and we invented our own manic version of Taboo — and relaxed our crazy lives. Snoopy was in ecstasy. For the first time in months we were all together, ready to scratch his ears and rub his belly at any time. He was snuggled, hugged and generally made much of. And me? I was in heaven. No trip to a Caribbean island could compare to this.

Steve and the girls ventured out to shovel the walk and had their first snowball fight in years. Getting snow outfits together for Lisa and Mariel was an adventure. I actually still had their old boots sitting in the garage and we unearthed hats and gloves. After an hour getting dressed they spent about 15 minutes clocking each other with snowballs, then they trooped back in to throw their wet clothes in the dryer and make cocoa. The song “Seems Like Old Times” kept drifting through my head as I happily mopped the wet floor.

Eventually the roads were plowed and our driveway cleaned, forcing us to stick our noses out of the door. To be honest, we were all getting a bit restless. After two indoor days, cabin fever set in. But I still had a week off and my girls were still in town. Lisa and I visited the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton and ate sinfully delicious omelets at Amber Road in Canton Center. Mariel and I ended up at IKEA searching for a milk-frother and at the mall cashing in Godiva gift certificates. We visited with Mom and ate and slept, but most of all we laughed.

And now it’s Monday morning and I’m back at work. Lisa’s gone home and Mariel leaves for Arizona tomorrow. My idyll has ended. But for a while it sure seemed like old times.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=276

Posted by Joan Florek Schottenfeld on Jan 13 2011. Filed under As You Like It, Featured Content, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.