The Comforts Of A Break

By Tracy Managing Editor
 

 
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As a teacher, the closer we get to holidays, the countdown begins. And as a working mom, this countdown is that much more important, because momma needs a break! Weekends, when there aren’t breaks, are filled with grading to get done, curriculum to plan, errands to run, grocery shopping that needs to get done, and all that laundry that keeps piling up. Weekends end up not being as relaxing as one would think when you are a working teacher momma. But for Thanksgiving, having those 2.5 extra days off (we always get an early release day on Wednesday) is just what I need to relax and focus on that very important family time.

Our Thanksgiving is small. We do it up just for our little nuclear family. We all get to sleep in, wear our pajamas as long as we want, and don our jeans and t-shirts for meal time. But most of all, I was looking forward to seeing Thanksgiving through Abby’s eyes. Now at two she understands concepts, and remember things, and I just couldn’t wait for it all.

Turkey Pants circa 2009

As a kid I remember waking up and crawling into my mom’s bed to watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and I couldn’t wait to start this tradition with Abby. Three Thanksgivings ago, this was not on my radar as we had a little three week old Abby. In fact, there’s a good chance we slept through it. Last Thanksgiving Abby just turned one, and gave the parade about one minute of her attention and then scooted on her way. But this year, I just knew she would be all about it. After breakfast, we got blankets and pillows arranged on the living room floor and Abby snuggled up with us to watch. She was mesmerized really. She kept shouting “blewns” (balloons), asking, “what he doing?” and requesting, “Abby take a turn.” She wanted turns with “blewns.” She wanted turns singing and dancing. She wanted to be a part of it all. And you know, I got all teary eyed and emotional. That’s a mom gene, right?

While she ate her lunch, she watched the turkey being prepared. She was obsessed with it, wanting to see it. I taught her to say, “gobble, gobble, gobble,” and “Happy Thanksgiving,” and she kept repeating those phrases when talk of turkey happened.  You know, more of that melt your heart cuteness.

And my sometimes very hard to get to fall asleep toddler, who insists on momma being next to her until she’s completely out, well that kiddo pulled the blanket my great-grandma knitted over her head and before I knew it she was out. Before getting up from her floor bed, I pulled the blanket off her face, to find this little sweet face, with rosy cheeks, passed out, resting up for the main event of our Thanksgiving meal.

When Daddy cut the turkey, there were shouts of glee, as Abby exclaimed, “Oh” with excitement.  I seriously wish I could have captured the tone in her voice. My husband and I giggle every time she does it.  And after dinner, the pies were too hot, as they were just out of the oven, and bed time was approaching. So we sat on the kitchen floor and gave Abby some vanilla bean ice cream sans pie. And my kiddo, she is such a sharer. She took bites, but also fed her Daddy some bites. Precious, right?

On Friday, instead of running around trying to find the best deals, we all got up and went to a local u-cut Christmas tree place. We had no idea what we were getting into as we saw people changing into hiking boots in the lot, but once there were realized it was easy peasy, and a new family tradition was started.  The tree type we wanted was in the closest field and cutting it didn’t take much time at all. And let me just say, that this Jewish girl is really enjoying celebrating all this Christmas stuff too. It’s really magical to have two family traditions to celebrate with Abby.  I mean, the cuteness of Abby hunting for a Christmas tree, picking up sticks, and hugging trees (seriously, this cuteness happened many times), melted my heart even more.

The best part about Thursday and Friday, was the fact that I didn’t do any work. I drew the line. Holidays need to be about family time and getting all teary eyed and heart melting as you get to start traditions with your growing family. It doesn’t need to be big or extravagant. The most important thing is just stepping back from the throngs of the busy working momma life I lead.

How did you spend this time away from the job? Did you start any new family traditions? Did you snuggle in like I did?
 
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