Great Expectations

March Break

Monday. So begins another week of routine as the kids return to school after March Break. It didn't go too badly this morning...everyone was in the car by 8:14 am. That's only 9 minutes later than I ask of them and only 4 minutes later than I actually expect of them. I consider this to be a good start to the week.

March Break seems to be the perfect time for our children to let us know we suck at being cool. All their friends were going away...so they said. They found it hard to believe that Brad and I actually worked during their break. It was just another week to us of getting up early, packing lunches and trudging to our offices. We actually expected them to do their chores and to make their own fun for the week. I even made them go to the dentist. I know....insanity.

Truth is, they can't help having these irrational wants. It seems as if everyone takes a family vacation in March except for us. I actually feel guilty that we don't take them to Florida or California. Or on a cruise. Or New York City for shopping and a Broadway show. Or even skiing...which I would not enjoy but would gladly sit in the chalet drinking a special coffee. We just can't seem to save the money to afford a vacation for a family of five. We would have been much further ahead having two kids...that third one costs us a bundle. But we're too fond of all three to dump one now.

I remember March Break as being pretty low key when I was in school. Is it just me or did March seemed colder and snowier than it is now? We went tobogganing down the neighbor's hill or skating on the bog. If we were lucky, we might go visit our Gumpy and Nanny in Mahone Bay. Gumpy would buy us a treat and Nanny would dig out a treasure for us. (That was always a source of entertainment...once I got a pair of used slippers. They were a ladies 10 and I was about 9 years old. She said I would grow in to them.) And if we were really well behaved, we might go to Bridgewater on Friday night and hang out at the mall. Good times...

If we did go on a family vacation, it was done on a budget and only happened in the summer. We would take road trips to New Brunswick or Prince Edward Island. Mom packed a cooler full of sandwiches and drinks. We stopped at picnic rest stops to stretch our legs. Dad would start looking for a Motor Inn around 5pm and by 9pm he was usually successful. The motel needed to meet basic requirements - clean bedding and a decent bathtub in case Mom wanted to have a bath. I guess this was Dad's way of saying he loved her and wanted her to have a bubble bath after spending 10 hours in the car with four whiny kids.

Needless to say, we never went to Disney World when we were kids. I went to Orlando for the first time in 1990. I was twenty four and had won the trip. I was there for 5 days in the midst of late April humidity and broke out in a heat rash. I waited in very long lineups to go on 2 minute rides. I was underwhelmed with Sleeping Beauty's castle and was creeped out eating seafood in the restaurant while sea creatures swam around us. There were a few memorable moments. The Polynesian Resort show was amazing and I loved the Indiana Jones spectacular. Space Mountain was thrilling but, overall, I was glad the trip was free.

So despite not going away during March Break, I tried my best to give the kids the things they wanted. I gave Rachel her privacy. She slept in really late (her favorite thing) and I took her and her friends shopping to places they wanted to go. I gave Colleen my undivided attention. I took her shopping and we saw "The Lorax" in 3D...even though my bifocals were not very agreeable. She ate unlimited amounts of junk food and felt sick for much of the week. I gave Emily her freedom. She spent most of her time with the few friends who didn't go away and she picked up extra work hours.

So even though we aren't cool parents who take their kids on expensive vacations, I hope our girls realize that sometimes it's nice to just relax. We didn't have to worry about luggage or passports or sunscreen. We didn't need to wait for an airplane or wonder about the quality of the food or water that was in front of us. We ordered from restaurants we knew and slept in our own comfy beds. Hopefully, they will lower their expectations and enjoy what they have. But it is more likely they will say the same thing next March - "You never take us anywhere!!"
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Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

I am coming to the end of a chaotic week. When you have children, you need to sacrifice your free time. The laundry is piling up around me and the soap scum in the shower is looming. Meals have been ordered or picked up at Sobeys all week. I don't know who took the dog out last. But to hell with it all. I have birthday parties to plan, science fair supplies to buy and basketball tournaments to deal with.

My youngest, Colleen, turned 10 years old this week. She has moved into the 'tween' years. Two weeks ago, I booked a dance studio for her party and designed invitations for her to distribute. She labored over whom she should invite but finally made her choices. Unfortunately, I forgot about the over-booked schedules of her classmates. When you are dealing with cheerleaders, basketball players, soccer stars and dancers, you need to consult with their team websites to check out what possible competitions might be getting in the way of having a birthday party. Times sure have changed! Yup, when I was a kid, nothing would get in the way of free cake and treat bags! I didn't even care if I knew the birthday girl or boy...I would never say no to a party!  

But the kids today are different. Life is competitive and they don't want to miss an opportunity to shine even if it means missing free food and gifts. On Thursday, we decided to postpone the party. I negotiated with the dance studio and stayed up until eleven-thirty that night to make new invitations for Colleen to give to her friends the next day. So of course she forgot to hand then out. I then spent a lot of time figuring out how to get in touch with the parents of kids I don't know. This was not an easy task but no one showed up on the wrong day so I am relieved. Now, let's hope that parents are kind enough to honor the RSVP on the new invitations...if Colleen remembers to hand them out.

To be honest, postponing the event was a relief. Colleen also had a four day basketball tournament that we were trying to work around. This was a big deal for her. She joined basketball late in the year. As Colleen would tell you, I was forcing her to take martial arts and it caused a conflict with the basketball schedule. After much lamenting about how "lame" and "boring" tae kwan do was, I caved and let her start basketball in November. The only problem was that the club rules prevented her from playing in regular season games. But her friend Amie was keen on having her join so she practiced three hours a week with the team and made some new friends. This made me proud because most kids would say 'no thanks' to practicing hard and not having the glory of competing.

The regular season ended three weeks ago so this week marked her debut in a real game and my first look at league basketball. The girls in her division were all between eight and ten years old. They came in many shapes and sizes and well equipped with many family members. I had the opportunity to see these lovely girls when they weren't on the court. They were silly and sweet. They liked glitter makeup and hairbands. They wore crazy socks and carried cute stuffed animals. They were typical girls...until game time.

Suddenly, they were in it to win it. They were grabbing arms and legs and rolling around on the floor more than the dust bunnies in my closet. There were whistles blowing and hands flailing for a very, very long time. I was quite taken aback at the aggressive behavior I was witnessing. I admit that I was never good at team sports. I always lacked the coordination needed and quite frankly, wasn't keen on sweating and dressing in unflattering uniforms. But I do remember a few things about basketball and this seemed more like indoor rugby. These girls were willing to do anything they could to steal the ball. They drew fouls and some came close to being put out of the game.

It was evident that Colleen was still learning the game. She looked a bit lost at times. It took the coach a few times screaming ”Stay out of the key!!!!" before she realized that Colleen had no idea what that was. But my girl didn't give up. She played as hard as she could. She stole the ball and even scored a few baskets. She posted the first three points of their fourth game and even earned a player of the game award. She had a few breakaways but missed her lay ups. She sunk four foul shots and managed to only have two fouls against her in five games. The effort her team put forth took them to the championship game!

This morning she woke up sick. With a 100.8 degree fever and sore throat she lamented to me  "I need to play for the championship, Mom". So pumped up on Tylenol, protein shakes, oranges and water, she played. She may not have had her best game, but she wasn't going to let her team down. It looked as if their opponents were going to run away with the win but our little Celtics fought back and came within two points! In those last thirty seconds, there were a lot of crazy parents in the elementary school gym screaming "Shoot the ball!".... and there may be a strong argument that I made the top ten list of crazy. 

But it was not to be. The game ended and they got their silver medals and they congratulated the other team. They took team pictures and they may have cried a tear or two. But then they hugged each other and picked up their stuffed toys and dolls and were little girls again. Colleen snuggled up in the back seat on the way home and critiqued her performance. Maybe next year.....

We got home at 3:30 and she has been in bed ever since. Her job is done and now she has allowed herself to give in to the nasty virus. She is cuddled up with her unicorn pillow pal (a birthday gift from Daddy) and her magic bag. She is ready to be my baby again, letting me hug her and bring her chicken soup and crackers and juice and Tylenol. She is sugar and spice and everything nice...with  her basketball under her covers.