Vacations

Does the daily grind run you down? Do you tire of doing the same things day in and day out? Does the repetition about drive you batty? It does me from time to time. We've been sick, all of us and the weather has been a mite chilly and snowy for quite some times. I have essentially been housebound with five under 8 since before Christmas. Today I took a vacation; I had a change of scenery. I broke the drudgery of laundry, dishes and toys.

Because Baby R was safely having a nap in her swing and it was the day to take the trash to the back alley for pick up on Friday, I felt we needed to escape for a few minutes. We are allowed 6 bags of trash and I like to get them out there before dark. I didn't want to do it. It's cold out there and the logistics of organizing the four older ones with outside clothes and such for a quick job was more than I wanted to handle but I decided to seize the opportunity of not holding Baby R and get the job done. DH hates to come home and have to haul all those bags to the alley himself, so it is something the girls and I like to do for him. Many hands make light work and so I helped bundle everyone up and out we went (I even put on snowpants!). I loaded two bags on a sled for K, and one on another sled for CJ, gave one to M to drag across the snow and I grabbed two for myself with W tagging along. I had to stop periodically to lift him back onto his feet as the deep snow was tough on his little legs. He's a trooper and made it all the way there.

All of a sudden I realized this wasn't such a chore! We were laughing and running (as best as we could) and having fun working together. To make the job a little more fun we loaded M and W into the empty sleds for the trip back to the house and raced!

I wasn't ready to go in yet. I needed a longer vacation so I sent the four of them in to get undressed, checked on Rayna and got them settled watching TV. I thought about the job we just did and the mini-vacation I was taking and shovelled the deck and stairs. I worked hard to get most of the snow off and make our stairs safer to climb! When I came in the house I was in bright spirits and the rest of the afternoon went smoothly. I had a new outlook and a fresh attitude (and something to blog about!). I could face the necessary "day in and day out" stuff again, with a smile on my face. I knew the evening was going to be tough and long as I didn't excpect DH until after 9PM. But I was okay with that!

Anyway, try it! Take a mini-vacation today. Really, all you need is half an hour or a little more. Take your kids or settle them into a safe activity for a few minutes. Step outside; get some air. Grab a shovel and embrace the snow! If a mom of five can do it (and do it safely), so can you! This may be just what you need and it won't cost a penny, unless you happen to break the shovel.