When your kids are little, it’s tempting to think that Spring Break will be so much easier when they grow up and you don’t have to worry about the dryer monster eating one sock from every matching pair — or lugging around the play pen and the high chair and the ten gallon bucket of toys to keep your kiddos entertained. In those early years, it can be easy to miss all the magic that lies in the mystery of the dryer monster, the Tetris car packing, and the long rides with cranky kiddos. Because what comes next is quite daunting — teenagers! That’s right, the mysterious beings who are far too busy, and way too hip, to vacation with boring and out of touch parents!
This realization left me gobsmacked during Spring Break 2019. There was no vacation to plan — my kids were far too busy with their own activities to coordinate schedules for a trip across town let alone beyond the metro border. There were no reservations to be made, no bags to pack, no places to go, and no new things to see. The signs were this day was coming, but the coming of such things and the actual happening of them are so very different.
Rebuffed, but undaunted, I laid in wait convinced that the stars would align and my sweet cherubs’ calendars would sync for a few moments of fun with their ol’ mom. And, as luck would have it they did. So, with the weather in the Pacific Northwest in rare form, we trotted off on a beautiful hike with Sir Hercules. Miss T even managed to make it up to the mountain for some skiing! And, when my kids’ calendars were too busy, and the trail called, I answered with some solo cross-training.
