Thoughts after two weeks off

Our break is almost over. My parents are taking our kids tonight so my husband and I can celebrate our anniversary (which is today!) and then we’re back to real life next week.

I have to say, the break ended up being a lovely couple of weeks. I hesitate to use the word “lovely,” because that felt overly positive, but honestly? I think it was quite lovely. It was a good mixture of fun and relaxing and productive. I didn’t get as much done as I wanted but I also got enough done that I don’t feel much glaring regret. We didn’t spend too much time on the new screens but enough that the kids were satisfied. We got outside at least once a day (when the weather permitted – which was most days)! We had friends over, which was when I got some stuff done around the house. And some friends reciprocated, which allowed us to have play dates without sibling squabbles. We did some fun activities – Exploratorium, Muir Woods, ice-skating at Civic Center, WinterFest at the local amusement park, Spies in Disguise at the theater, hike in San Bruno Mountain Park (a new running spot to be sure! I got an annual parking pass!) but also had plenty of down time. My son and I made it to some of the few martial arts classes offered. I got some grading done, and made it to my classroom once. I took down and stored all the Christmas stuff. All in all it was a really nice break – so much better than I ultimately expected.

Besides the weather and the absence of illness, the main thing that made this a nice break is that my kids are finally old enough to enjoy a break! They can hang out at home, listening to audiobooks or podcasts (or actually reading for my daughter) when they need down time and they can navigate a day trips without a ton of managing from the adults. My husband and I seem to be better at parenting them together too, which is probably more the effect of them needing less parenting to begin with. The secret to our success then was just that our kids are getting older! As I suspected, I am a much happier parent to older kids.

I do think we are in the sweet spot right now with their ages. My daughter is already showing glimpses of tweendom, and her attitude is sure to get a lot more challenging, but right now she only flirts with the eye rolling and “you’re such a dumbass” tone. Right now she still wants to hang out with us and ultimately craves our positive attention, which I hope will last for a couple more years at least. Meanwhile our son is still cuddly and snuggily enough for me to get my “youngest kid snuggle fix,” but also independent enough to do a lot of things by himself. He doesn’t need me all the time, but really appreciates the time he does have with me. And while his moods can still be volatile, he’s learning how to manage them with fewer toys thrown and siblings hit.

So yeah. A really nice break. So nice that it gives me hope for the next couple of years. I think things could be really pleasant moving forward – at least until my kids enter adolescence. (Eek!)