Taking a Drive

I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon, and her first question was, "So was today your first day back from Spring Break?" I smiled. A relaxed, happy smile. I know it's not nice to rub it in for people who don't get Spring Break, so I followed my smile up with, "All professions deserve a Spring Break." She agreed adamantly.




This year for Spring Break we went to Albuquerque for my niece's wedding, which was AMAZING. It was GORGEOUS. We had the best time with family and friends, celebrating Becca and Mike. During the week that followed, there was a lot of cooking, a modicum of shopping and more laughing. My husband, my kids and I had the best time with my dad, my sister and her kids.




My favorite part of the break, though, was the drive. [Quick side note: my husband has a terrible phobia of flying, and, fun fact, we discovered on this trip that I now have full blown panic attacks driving across bridges, through mountain passes or when surrounded by three semis and a concrete wall. It was not a good look.] That's right - we were in the car together for forty-eight hours as a family. Yes, we are all still talking to each other, but I won't lie; there was a plethora of sleeping. There was EPIC whining. Every time someone from the back seat asked, "How much longer?" we added seven minutes to the ETA - just enough not to be too conspicuous, until they figured out that it probably wasn't going to take ten hours to drive the sixty miles that remained. But we also read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (thank you, Bonine), we listened to podcasts, and we engaged in car-trip karaoke.




So are your ready for the take-away? It really is about the journey. (Sorry, I had to . . .) And it is about the break. We all deserve it, and what I have learned is that is necessary. I think about Spring Breaks past when I’ve graded papers or built schedules, and now I wonder if I thought doing that work was keeping me on track, maybe getting me ahead. What I know now is that it is so important to step back so that I can step up for the kids we serve every day when it’s time. I feel energized - okay, and more than a little tired from driving and riding, but I have gotten to spend time focused on the people I love, so now I’m ready to continue in a job I love without feeling depleted. The end of the year requires as much, if not more energy than the beginning. But I’m ready because I just had a wonderful Spring Break. And I deserved it - we all do.