Out of the Woods and Into the Cabin Fever

Day Three of our city weekend, and I am finally feeling as though my cold will end.  Not the way I imagined our city Thanksgiving, but what ever is exactly the way you imagined?

Had I written this, beginning to end, a few hours ago, I would have been marveling at the fact that the five of us had managed to find 5 separate, peaceful corners of the apartment for most of the day.  So, probably, I should have buckled down in my corner and written about my perfect, tranquil family.  But, alas, a few hours have passed, we have emerged from the five corners, and it is clear that, while my cold may be getting better, cabin fever has begun to set in.

I used to think that if we lived in a ginormous house in suburbia, just the mere size of the place would make us get along more of the time.  We could go to our separate rooms--after all, each child would have his or her own room, AND my husband and I would have rooms of our own in addition to our bedroom.  The piano would be separate from the TV, and the spaces for working would be separate from both the piano and the TV.  And when we all wanted to be together, we could be in any room, including the kitchen, which would be big enough for all of us to be preparing parts of dinner at the same time (yes, that's right, everyone would have a part in preparing dinner).

No, I am not feverishly delirious, nor am I currently medicated.  But a girl can dream, can't she?

What I realized today, though, is that, while the big suburban house might separate people's messes and give us more places to find some quiet, no amount of space makes a family of five get along all the time.  No amount of space makes kids practice piano or do their homework the first time you tell them or keeps them from arguing about who has to go first.  And no amount of space, I'll bet, makes staying inside for most of a 4-day weekend a recipe for harmony.

So, for now, and tomorrow, I will put aside the ginormous suburban house fantasy and settle for an escape from cabin fever--an expedition in the city, hopefully with stops that will please everyone.  And soon enough, we'll be out of the woods completely, no doubt wishing that we could crawl back into bed in our 17th floor cabin.