Our Break Unbroken

We just finished up Spring Break and while this can be a trying time with routines knocked out of whack and the discomfort of constant "togetherness," there were some really nice things about this past Spring Break that I am going to miss. Here they are in no specific order.

1. Sleeping In: Now I'm not talking about major sleeping in. I'm talking about not having to set an alarm clock. Usually we all have to be up by 7:30 AM, I need to be dressed, the kids diapers changed, the basement heat turned on for lessons, the garage door opened to let the teacher in and breakfast needs to be out on the table. During break I was awakened by the sound of a happy Josh bounding out of bed, running into his sister's room whether she was awake or not and beginning to play and laugh with her. I would lie in bed waiting for the sleepiness to wear off while I listened to my kids playing and often Jane protesting Josh's loving intrusiveness. It still makes me smile to think of it. Jane is not really a morning person, just like her mother.

2. Breakfast with my kids: Now I pretty much have breakfast with my kids every day, except for those golden days when Jason lets me sleep in, a true thing of beauty... But I digress. I also have breakfast with a special education teacher most days. And we usually discuss how to help Josh with things like behavior problems, acquiring skills, potty-training, you know, the kind of stuff everyone would start their day discussing, if they could. Well... maybe not. During break however, the kids and I could be completely ridiculous together. We could listen to loud music. I could wear my pajamas. We could laugh when someone burped, or had bad bedhead. We still laugh at these things when the teachers are there, it's just more restrained. During break we just did normal family breakfast stuff. It was lovely.

3. Our days were our own: We could watch lots of TV and movies and not worry about their educational value. We could, and did, play outside until we got dirty and then play in the water until we got cold. We could nap whenever we wanted, well at least Jane could, and I could pass out on the couch occasionally. We could have lunch at McDonald's with friends and I was relaxed enough to let Josh play in one of those germ-infested death traps they call Play Places.

One day we went down to the New York State Museum and had a fabulous time. The kids didn't complain at all and I dragged them through most of that huge museum. Jane loved the animal dioramas. Later, whenever I asked her what she saw at the museum, she always said "animals" in an excited voice with a look of glee on her face. Josh seemed really struck by one of the photographs in the Masterpieces of American Photography from the George Eastman House Collection exhibit. It was a special exhibit with lots of iconic American photographs. It was kind of over the kids' heads but I really wanted to see it and it was a limited time thing so I dragged them through. The photo Josh just stop and stared open-mouthed at was a black and white picture of 4 or 5 kids sleeping in one bed in a tenement. The reason I noticed was because Josh doesn't off stop and stand still looking at something for that long. I don't know why that photo spoke to him and he couldn't tell me, but I like to think it was the family closeness and togetherness represented there with all it's discomfort and cozy safety combined. I loved the old photographs of Abraham Lincoln. There was one of him on the Antietam battlefield. I had never been so close to a photograph of this much-loved president. I wasn't prepared and I gasped audibly in the quiet gallery. Instantly I looked around for someone to share my discovery with. I love when that happens in a museum. It's just plain magic. That's part of why I love museums so much. Here's a link to an article in the local paper about the exhibit. If you're in the area, you should try to see it.

All in all it was a sweet and mostly relaxing break. I'm not saying we didn't ever get on each other's nerves or long for some normalcy but mostly we were together and happy. I think that photograph we saw represents our week perfectly, kind of uncomfortably close but restful and together where we belong.