Winter Pleasures

The winter feels so long at this point. Sometimes we have to be creative as to how to enjoy the rainy, dark days. Little peeks at the sun through the clouds or mist bring us to the playground, but mostly we stay home and find special things to do with our afternoons. How about a candle-lit picnic? How about yummy chocolate chip muffins with sweet potato puree inside? True's favorite. It's from Deceptively Delicious, but there's nothing secret here as part of the fun is my little chef and enthusiastic dishwasher/water-player helping to bake them.

This week is Spring Break, a mere six weeks after our pull-out-the-stops "Staycation" for Mid-Winter Break. So I felt a little less than enthusiastic about coming up with plans for the week. Plus, last week Carsen was home with a flu & cold mix that sat us in front of the TV way too much, so we all had cabin fever before the break even began.

But as often is the rediscovered truth, the relaxed, unplanned days of this little vacation have been so delightful, with a more natural rythm than our hurried school-mornings,. We delve into a complex art project that busies and inspires us until lunch. The sort that always gets put off during the school week. And let's face it, when Dad's home during the weekend, this SAHM has more interest in scrapbooking, one on one time with the kids, and datenight than art projects. We spend the second half of the day relaxing, watching a movie, going on a nature walk, and cooking together.

So it's funny to me to remember toddlerhood, when the day felt so long and the summer, insurmountable with two little ones, much as I love them. Now more than ever, I just savor the days. Because as much effort and time as I put into this career of mine as Mama, and the high standards we all place on ourselves, it seems that since my oldest shuffled off to all-day Kindergarten, time feels immensely less tangible than it had. We see so little of each other now, she & I. And my husband even less because now that our kids are relatively easier to manage throughout the day he can focus the kind of hours required to build his own business. I knock on wood as I write this and the phrase "famous last words" ring in my ears. But at this moment I feel good knowing that I have played with my kids today, fed them well, got a good night's sleep, and still have time to read my favorite blogs, actually pick up a novel versus a magazine, and give my husband one of those deep kisses that make you forget the rest of the world. Even as this long, gray winter seems to not be at all interested in evolving into Spring.