The final day of Christmas break arrived. I almost started that sentence with something like “At last” or “Finally,” but that seems disingenuous since it felt like the break just started about 47 seconds ago.
I’ve been off from work for approaching 2 weeks, but it went by me in the blink of an eye. Not like this is anything new, it seems to happen every year I have the opportunity to do this. I try to hoard vacation days for the end of the year becasue I do really appreciate the break and taking the time to unspool my mind and just be for a little while.
And it was a good break. We had some really good times together as a family. We had a couple of really fun Zoom calls with friends. We ate lunch in an igloo, took an amazing hike, and played a bunch of Mario Kart. I took naps!
Before Christmas, the kids would ask me what I wanted this year, and I honestly answered “naps and socks.” That’s not even a joke, that’s really what I wanted. And I got both of those things, so truly dreams do come true.
But all good things must come to an end, and on Sunday we started the process of preparing for life back in the real world. I put on actual pants (not sweats) and got my act together to go out and do the grocery shopping, with an eye toward making actual healthy meals in the coming week, as opposed to the rich holiday food and snacks we’d been subsisting on. So off I went.
The kids wanted to come along, so we all grabbed masks and they joined me. I had to make a quick stop to return something before going to Trader Joe’s, and of course as this point Henry started grumbling that he wanted to go home and was showing pre-tantrum signs.
Now, we’ve come a long way in managing the meltdowns, but they can still be happen and they can be rough, particularly when out in the world. I worried about how I’d get through the next hour or so, and while waiting in line to get into Trader Joe’s, he continued to moan and complain and try to pull away. Sigh.
But to his credit, when we got in, I asked the kids if they wanted to help me with the shopping, and his mood turned immediately positive. With a spring in their steps, both kids would go and grab apples or bananas or lettuce or whatever I read off the list, and toss it in the cart.
We got through fast and with surprising ease, so I was thankful for that small miracle, and Henry’s resilience in that moment.
Back home, Erin had been cleaning the house to make it presentable for Henry’s therapist when she would come on Monday. By the time I got the groceries put away and Erin wrapped up the cleaning effort, we were both pretty beat. We sat down to watch the second half of the Packers/Bears game, and I was pleased to see my team pull out a win and grab the number 1 seed in the NFC playoffs.
Not a bad last day all in all. Erin and I both were feeling like it was a good choice to get some things done and build a little momentum leaning into Monday, since doing a hard start after a lazy Sunday would probably have been even more difficult.
Anyway, onward. One step at a time, we’ll see what 2021 has in store.
