Holiday after holiday

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”

Thornton Wilder

Does anyone else feel as though they need a holiday to recuperate after a holiday?  We went ‘away’ for the long weekend.  We only drove 10 kms to my parents’ beach house, but let’s face it, packing for a weekend away from home is the same no matter what the distance; you still require an extraordinary amount of gear!  The ‘pack and play’ for Fig to sleep in, the high-chair, the dog’s bed and food, the bikes, the toys, books and games, the outer-garments for all weather, the favourite blanket, the plastic dishes, the footwear for all weather…you know the drill.  (F.Y.I. the only items that were forgotten were my underwear.  Nice.)

We seem to get hit the hardest in the SLEEP department when we’re away from home.  On the day of our departure, Fig missed her nap completely for the first time in her life and she never quite recovered.  She fussed at the drop of a hat for the better part of three days.  Pip had trouble falling asleep each night, but once she was out, she filled her eleven-hour quota without a problem.

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner out a the beach house; everyone pitched in and cooked a dish or two, so the evening was definitely a team-effort, but my husband and I marveled at how fatigued we felt after our gathering of seventeen had dispersed.

All in all, it seemed as though the ratio of ‘preparation for fun’ to ‘actual fun’ was way out of whack.  Maybe that’s just the way life is: good things take some effort.  When I think to myself, was it worth it?  The hours of laundering, packing, unpacking, packing, unpacking and laundering again?  The increased sleep deprivation?  The cranky baby?  The answer is: of course it was worth it!!   For starters, we had our first family beach-fire  and sang ‘The ants go marching…’ as the crackling fire met the crisp, fall air.  The next day, six happy children ate Thanksgiving dinner together, then retired to the family-room for some ‘ring-around-the-rosy’ fun.  And how cool was it that my daughter could look ahead down a beautiful forest path and see her two Grandmothers and her dad walking together?  Pretty cool.

When my mother-in-law was packing up Monday to head back to her home-town, Pip reassured her, “Don’t worry Grandma, we’ll have another one of these ‘Thank’ days again soon.”

I’m all for it.