I love April vacation. Of the three, December, February, and April, I think February is the most challenging, December is the one less about vacation and more about just decompressing after the stress of the holiday drama that inevitably takes over that month. April is just fun. The weather is wonderful, the kids are ready to be outside looking for adventure, and we’re so close to summer that I can smell the sunscreen.
This April vacation has been everything I hoped, and possibly more than I expected. Jessie’s best friend Glennys came down from North Conway on Friday afternoon and we kicked off the week with a big Shabbat dinner with my stepdaughters. Saturday morning, we spent the day at our synagogue, Congregation Beth Israel, and it was perfect. It was Sisterhood Shabbat, and as Sisterhood President, I was in charge of planning the big lunch after services. I had been stressing out all week about it, shopping and planning and panicking. Everything was wonderful (although I learned a valuable lesson about buying Mylar balloons for decorating because they stay up longer). We visited friends Saturday night, and it was so beautiful outside. The kids (we had my three, plus two stepdaughters and Glennys, and my friend’s twins) were all outside, Marc was in the kitchen cooking with our friend David, and I was able to sit on the couch and have one of those long, luxurious conversations with my best friend that you never seen to be pull off when the kids are inside with you.
Sunday, we went to the Old North Bridge and the Louisa May Alcott House in Concord, hit Erikson’s ice cream on the way home and finished up with chinese food with friends. Monday was movie day (because it was pouring), and then Tuesday, we stopped at my mother’s house in Clinton and went to four different playgrounds on the way home. Wednesday, we drove up to North Conway to bring Glenny home, and spent the afternoon ogling mountains and exploring North Conway center. Yesterday, we did errands and bought everyone new shoes, then rearranged bedrooms, and tonight, I’m making a big Shabbat dinner for everyone.
Every vacation is different, and I’m not sure what it is about this one that made it so perfect. The weather helped, but I also think that the kids are at a perfect age. My three are 12, 8, and almost five, and they’re all old enough to play together well, independent enough to keep themselves happy solo.
It wasn’t all hearts and sunshine – there were battles and brawls, but they weren’t overwhelming. I’m never ever going to catch up on the dishes or laundry (especially because the kids clean their rooms by just tossing all the clothes that collect on the floor into the dirty clothes basket), and there are crayons, barbie dolls, and plastic guns all over the house (and the yard, now that I think about it). But it’s been a wonderful vacation, and while I’m ready to get back to our regular routine, I’m not ready for vacation week to end.
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