The first day back to school. This particular Spring Break, now ending, 
was the subject of many discussions over countless months. There was 
hope of a trip to Florida, but a realization that we couldn't foot the 
bill, then months of watching airfares, followed by days of trying to 
negotiate around play rehearsals, and, in the end, all of the above 
complications plus a little thing called "Mommy's got a new job (and won't be going anywhere)." So this was not a trip vacation. Rather, it was a
 discovery vacation. For my daughters, discovery of how self-sufficient 
they were able to be, from planning parts of their days to creating 
their own lunches. For my son, it was perhaps more structure and less 
sunshine than he might have wanted, but discovery that he still had ample time for playing video 
games and accomplishing a very long list of test prep
 homework. As for me, I couldn't solve every home crisis long-distance, 
but thanks to email and cell phone, I was as close as I could be from a 
different state. Feeling guilty sometimes, sure, but actively involved from 
afar.
 
On this night before they return, we are up far too late--a combination 
of a sleep schedule I didn't get around to adjusting back, and loose ends that I should 
have tied up days ago. But aside from our being tired tomorrow, I would like to 
think that we would all review this break as a pretty good one. No 
suntans, no airplanes, and no Mickey Mouse. Just a week to find out a 
little more about ourselves and our capabilities. And anytime's a good time to do that, 
isn't it?
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