Day Off

Today is President's Day: a day off to spend with my family on the first weekday of school vacation. After a few days of much-needed socializing with friends and family (3 days in a row!), today was purposely set aside as a rest day, an unplanned day, one in which we would be at home and relax.

This kind of day is exactly what our family needs now and then, and what I intentionally plan for. There's that word... intention. Yes, the intention was for a relaxed day at home. But what does that usually look like for mom?

Meal planning. Vacuuming. Laundry. Emails. Catch up on All The Things that I wasn't able to get done on busy school and workdays.

Not very relaxing, right? But this is the story of most moms I know.

I realized this morning that I was heading in that direction today, too, if I wasn't careful. The kids are older (10 and 11) and don't "need" me as much in the ways they used to. Steve and his friend were outside preparing for maple sugaring. I could easily fill my day with tasks from that never-ending To Do list of mine. Or...

--- I could ask Buddy if he wanted to play a board game and see his eyes light up with surprise and happiness. We played 3 games: Scrambled States of America, Trouble and Checkers.

-- I could tell the kids: "We'll have Kraft & hot dogs for lunch" (a favorite of theirs) and have all of us watch two episodes of a show on Disney that we all enjoy: "The Secret of Sulphur Springs".

-- I could say: "WOW! It's gorgeous out. Let's take a walk out back together after lunch and check out the upper field and the stream by where you guys like to play", and walk up there, and using sticks, poke at the ice on the stream to break it and send it flying downstream. Satisfying in a way that I can't explain... and if we hadn't gone up, I never would have slipped and fell on my bottom in the mud, sending my son and I into hysterics.

---I could, when we got back from that walk, decide it was still too nice to go in, and bring a coffee and book outside to enjoy while I sit with the sun warming my face for the first time in months.

-- I could, after coming back in, bring my laptop to the couch and try to write a blog post for the second time this month, and feel the craft of writing coming back to me, rejuvenating me, remembering I never regret the act of trying to catch Now in the words I type so maybe I can read this years from now and remember this Day of Intention.

-- I will, after this, offer to paint Rosie's nails and do a few quizzes online with her, and see what else might interest her.

Intention. Connection. Not every day has the luxury of looking and feeling like this, but it can be something to aspire to. Less rushing, more slowness. A board game instead of an email response. Coffee & book outside instead of making a phone call and barely registering the coffee I'm sipping.

"Life is good today."