This Break Isn't Broken

At the risk of jinxing myself, I have to admit that Christmas break is going pretty well around here. The kids – who often turn sibling rivalry into a higher art form – have been kind to each other, playing together, helping each other and snuggling in to watch holiday specials. Our tween – who just turned 11, but often shows glimpses of her future teenage self – has been a true delight with sweetness and a general cooperative spirit. Meantime, our 8-year-old son has been peacefully playing and entertaining himself, reorganizing his room, and creating decorations / banners / surprises for his sister's birthday.


We've enjoyed seeing old friends who have returned home for the holidays, spent time with family members, celebrated a birthday, had play dates, and appreciated lots of down time to just enjoy being a family.


To top it all off, the house is clean, laundry is done and put away, nice meals have been consumed (albeit with a few complaints from my picky eater), even more meals have been prepared and frozen for the future, and the dogs haven't eaten any shoes or human toys yet. We've all enjoyed sleeping in or taking an occasional nap. I'm not even behind on anything at work.

Oh yeah, work. That place I haven't been to for over a week. Maybe that's why things are kicking along so well at home. 


I've always worked and truly enjoy it, but as the kids get older, it seems like they need me more than they did when they were little. Sure, they don't need to be diapered or closely supervised. Yes, they help with chores and are pretty self-sufficient. But navigating the waters of middle school is something my husband and I need to be there to help them with. Of course, they may not say it in so many words, but we can see how important our ubiquitous support is to them.


Our children attend an academically-challenging Christian school and the homework is becoming a bigger part of their life, as are their extracurricular activities. Friendships are becoming more complex than, "Hey, do you want to play with my truck?" We know that many of the friends they make today will be their friends long into the future and we want to help them build strong relationships.


So, how can I make this work once Christmas break is over? Well, I guess I'll go back to my normal juggling act performed with far less sleep than I need. I'll continue to pray for wisdom, patience and the ability to meet my family's – and clients' – needs as well as I can. And I'll just keep reminding myself that the next nirvana is just around the corner when Spring break arrives.