First day of the Christmas break

I woke up late, had coffee and breakfast with Speedy (he still has to go to work today and it’s their company’s Christmas party tonight), then started checking my e-mail. I read for a few hours. The neighbor started playing the radio full blast, Alex was roused from sleep and was angry. I called the security guard, asked him to attend to the nuisance and everything was quiet. Great.

Sam got up around that time too and both girls wanted lunch. I reheated some leftover pasta, toasted slices of buttered French bread and we ate lunch amid a lot of chattering and bantering. During moments like that, I can feel the essence of “vacation” in my bones. The kids are on school break and there is that stress-free feeling. I can’t explain it, I can’t describe it, it’s just there. You have small talk over meals rather than discussions over what else they need for school. It’s heaven, I tell you.

Then, the distant lightning and thunder.

Sam: “Mommy, do you have to work?”

Me: “You mean over the Christmas break? Lightly… just the food blog…”

Then, the unwelcome bit of news — the bombshell: “I have a column due on December 24 and another on December 31.”

Sam: “Do they print newspapers on Christmas?”

Me: “Yes, they only go on break on Good Friday.”

Alex: “Then, submit early.”

Me: “Yes, I should.”

Sam: “Aren’t we having a party here on December 31?”

Me: “Yes,” knowing for sure at that point that there is no way I can wait until the 31st to submit my January 1 column. No way I can wait until the 24th to submit my December 25 column either. Unless I want to bear my daughters’ cold looks all throughout the Christmas break.

There goes the start of my Christmas vacation.