April 3rd

No Good Getaway Goes Unpunished

The school district combined end of trimester conferences with an Easter holiday break and the kids had a half day Tuesday, off Wednesday, off Thursday, off Good Friday, off Saturday and Sunday and Monday too! Phew they have a LOT of half days and days off these days! In some ways it is nice to be able to have a random half day on a Tuesday or Thursday here and there to take them somewhere special and pay the weekday rate at a time when other districts are not necessarily off, but sometimes (usually on a day when I am working) and more often all summer long, I feel the pinch of having all 4 of them home arguing with one another while I have sessions and notes to complete. And I am torn about about whether to take the morning and take them somewhere to try to wear them out or stop before all the work is done and get them involved in some household chores while supervising them so that it actually gets done without a battle beginning between them, and then having to work all evening or half the weekend to catch up.

So this time around my in-laws said yes to a very big deal! They took all 4 kids to their home starting Tuesday evening on the half day while we went to conferences. Then they had them while we both worked a full day in person on Wednesday and then they kept them through Friday while we got away to a lovely inn close to where I grew up that I had always heard great things about. We needed a belated 20 year anniversary trip and we were able to stay 2 whole nights 2 hours away while my parents held down the fort (and took care of the dog) at home and my in-laws entertained the kids. We had a wonderful candlelight dinner and a very nice stay and breakfast the first night into Thursday morning and then we made the foolish choice to get out our laptops and get some work done all morning on Thursday until after lunch. I was behind in paperwork as usual, he has a team to support in the field with ongoing projects and we are thankful for our work. But it always seems like the flexibility in our work and the ability to work partially remotely ends up adding up to us being available too often and just about from everywhere.

Two of my kids started getting sick with the stomach bug and my tolerant in-laws kept them. They let us know but didn’t ask us to come home. I also spent some time reaching out with questions by email about jobs I am applying for to determine next steps when one of my part-time positions ends in Spring 2027.

I mean I guess it’s not great to regret getting that done, but I truly do wish I would have seized every bit of that time! Because as we were heading out for a late lunch I just really didn’t feel hungry at all. Not super surprising as breakfast was plentiful and very filling, but after we ate lunch out and headed back to watch a movie in the room and by the time we got food delivered for dinner I couldn’t eat a bite of my dinner. I was nauseous and barely slept all night and right before we had to check out that stomach virus my kids brought home came right out of me and into the ice bucket.

My husband splurged on champagne and strawberries greeting us when we arrived and we never did finish the champagne and really the part that stands out most in my memory was getting sick and sleeping the whole way home and the rest of Friday while my in-laws gave the kids dinner and brought them home close to bedtime. We were thankful for all they did but it felt like we barely got a day away, came home sick, and found a way to host a simplified Easter on Sunday evening before they hit the road to see my sister-in-law and her family 14 hours away.

When you’re sandwiched it just really is never a good time to get away. But let this be a reminder not to bring your work along if you can help it because you never know when you’ll be checking out a little early after thoroughly cleaning the ice bucket and warning the front desk that you are probably leaving germs behind.