I am a teacher and am currently working in a consultant position for my school division. I will begin by saying that I absolutely adore my job. I am extremely passionate about it and dedicated to it. That kind of passion can sometimes come at a price to my own family though. I haven't completely mastered the art of leaving work at work and being completely present when I am home. I worry about certain kids, I worry that I am not doing enough, I make to-do/don't forget lists in my brain, I am constantly thinking about what I can do to bring certain concepts to the forefront for my students, how I can create an inviting environment, etc. Like most teachers I know, I my work day isn't really 9-3:30, which means that my own family shares my time and brain with many other little people. So when a break like the Christmas holidays rolls around, I am able to actually turn off my teacher brain for a short time and my full attention is devoted to my own family . I get to enjoy and fully reconnect with my own girls. I get to at the move beyond activities after school, play dates with friends, beyond the suppertime recap of their day and mundane daily chores that need to be accomplished between 5:30- 10 p.m. I get to giggle, cuddle, cook, bake, watch a movie without planning/marking on the side, play games, go for coffee, get outdoors, have lazy mornings, or lazy afternoons. We have TIME and I find that I treasure it more and more as I see them growing up.
So let's take a peak at how we spent our holiday.
2 CHRISTMASES & SOME LICE
Christmas Eve brought a story we hope to laugh at one day, even now we kind of already are. At the girls school there has been a bit of a LICE epidemic and we've had to deal with it a few times this winter. What do you think we found at 9 p.m. on Christmas Eve, just as we were about to sit down to watch a movie as a family. LICE in Anya's hair. There were tears. There was, "It's not fair!" and "This is the worst Christmas Eve ever!" and to top it off we had to say goodbye to our elf, Buddy. As a mom, what can you do but laugh at the situation. Not much fun but the good news is the rest of our break was fantastic!!!
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| They are literally both crying and it's like 10:45 p.m. on Christmas Eve. |
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| Milk and cookies for Santa. (Smiles prior to finding the LICE) |
We woke up to our living room resembling Santa’s workshop. Everyone was spoiled rotten! One tradition the we have is to never put presents under the tree ahead of time, unless they are for others or the kids were given directly. The shock and surprise of Santa’s arrival when it goes from pretty bare to overflowing is quite a sight.
Christmas dinner with my parents and my two grandmas.
Christmas with my in-laws and sister-in-laws family on boxing day.
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| Cousins watching a movie together. |
CABIN LIFE
It was SOOOOOO COLD the first few days but we all braved it in order to enjoy ski-doos that our friends brought up to share with us. Our kids rarely get to go on ski-doos so it was worth getting all bundled up for, plus we all needed a little fresh air, even in -34C . I also got to drive a ski-doo for the first time ever, EEK, they can go FAST!
We also did a little sledding with our 'summer' friends.
NEW YEARS EVE
We rang in 2018 with two other families, for a total of 6 adults, 6 children and one pup. It was great evening full of fun, games, laughter, good food and drink. It was extremely casual and fabulously perfect (other than the fact that Anya ended up getting the flu bug that night and puking all over the bathroom :( She is all better now. Just another funny/story now.)
This day was my favorite day of the holidays. We went to Table Mountain for the day as a family. So very proud of Halie's determination to learn how to snowboard. She took her new snowboard to the hill and learned to turn both ways and spent the day on the big hill with us!!!!!
That's a wrap for our 2017 Christmas Holidays. Thanks for reading. I encourage you to leave a comment, especially if you never have before and tell me what the highlight of your break was.
XOXO Bo
I totally hear where you're coming from about needing a break at winter. Teaching is a HARD profession, no matter where you are in the field. So glad you were able to enjoy time with the family over break! Looks like you had a TON of fun!
ReplyDeleteVirginia
More to Mrs. E
Thanks for stopping by Virginia. It's so true and I also believe other people are working hard and never question their need for a break. :) We had a lovely time as a family and have definitely regrouped and the first week back has been mostly good.
DeleteI'm glad you were able to have that break- it is sooo very much needed..especially if you have to deal with lice. Yuck. I had it a couple times growing up and I can still smell that solution. Puke. I can also still taste rockaberry coolers, but that's another story.
ReplyDeleteHahaha, rockaberry coolers. For me it was Mike's Hard Lemonade.
DeleteEnjoyed reading your blog, and catching up with your sweet family over the holiday season. Take care and all the VERY best in 2018 Faye McVeigh
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment Faye! I love seeing your family updates on FB, how the girls are all off and getting married and the grandchildren are growing and adding up for you guys. Its also really nice that the girls are all so close to you in proximity, but where does Logan live?
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