Winter break
Last night I was sitting in the Hy Life Bistro, sipping a "Mint Kiss" coffee drink, and remarking to a dear friend from back home how unseasonably warm it was that evening. You brought some San Antonio warmth! I thanked her; as well as news, good and bad, from our quirky, sweet, and tragic little community. A remarkable teacher had passed away this past week. A dear friend has been battling cancer for years while his family try to hold things together. The new building is going up, and people come and go.
Everything and nothing has changed.
That night I slept with warm thoughts of home, but in the morning, the cold realities of Chicago slapped me in the face with 17 degree temperatures and wind that cut through layers of down jackets and long underwear. Chicagoans are fond of saying that in winter you can always put on an extra layer, but when it's hot, you can only take off so much. I am not so fond of reminding them that there is always some sliver of skin exposed somewhere, and it hurts like hell in -9 wind chill. And when you're trying to pry your frozen car door open first thing in the morning, or trying to bundle a squirming and crying child, no amount of sweaters will make anything better. In Texas, all you need is air conditioning or a pool, and a tall glass of iced tea and everything really is better.
We're celebrating our brief freedom by cleaning. We call it the winter purge. Piles of old papers, magazines, receipts, and kids art work have been swept off the desk into piles on our dining room table while we figure out what to do with our trash and treasure. We are plowing through the kids toys and books and stuff, dumping the destroyed dolls, the vandalized tea sets, and the torn pop-up books, all the while trying to convince our sobbing children that it's for the best. Clutter has overtaken our apartment, and, like the snow that piles up below, it's time to dig out of the mess.
It's not all drudgery. We're scheduling playdates for the kids, and my husband is planning on taking the big ones ice skating for the first time. I wish I could be there, but I'm still working. My religious girls school doesn't take off for the traditional winter break, so I'm still slogging away at aerobics, passing skills, and now, badminton! My break comes in late January when everyone else is back to work. Until then, I pretend to be on vacation, drinking a mojito while bundled up in a blanket. It's an incongruity that challenges the imagination, but I'm working it.
My husband is doing something he hasn't been able to all semester: enjoy a football game. Although considering how his Vikings are doing, he's still not enjoying himself.
We're not going to spend the entire break dusting and rearranging. We have a four-day extravaganza at a kosher resort in the Wisconsin Dells planned for next week, and Motzei Christmas, Tuesday evening, we're having some adult friends over for Mexican food, and, you guessed it, Mojitos!
We may or may not get the home front in order. We may or may not keep the kids adequately entertained for the next two weeks. We may or may not enjoy every sporting event we catch on TV. But one thing is for certain about winter vacations: they pass too quickly.
Some moments, however, will linger a lifetime. My eight year old son gave a D'var Torah, a mini-sermon, in front of a chapel full of teenage boys. He discussed the blessing Jacob gave to Ephraim and Menasse, his grandsons. What lesson, my son pondered, do we learn from Jacob's insistence on crossing his hands and blessing the younger Ephraim first? My son concluded that we learn that sometimes we think we know best, but our elders often know more than we do, "'Pecifically our Torah Scholars." I smiled so much it hurt. And when I went to hug my beaming boy, he pushed me away with an "aaw, Mom!" He's growing up too fast.
Winter breaks speed by, my son is turning into a young man before my eyes, and law school? We're halfway through! One and a half more winters to go. I'll take the warmth where I can get it: a brief visit with a good friend, a cup of hot chocolate, the nachat my children give me. I can always try one more scarf or hat, but these amazing days will never be back.
Everything and nothing has changed.
That night I slept with warm thoughts of home, but in the morning, the cold realities of Chicago slapped me in the face with 17 degree temperatures and wind that cut through layers of down jackets and long underwear. Chicagoans are fond of saying that in winter you can always put on an extra layer, but when it's hot, you can only take off so much. I am not so fond of reminding them that there is always some sliver of skin exposed somewhere, and it hurts like hell in -9 wind chill. And when you're trying to pry your frozen car door open first thing in the morning, or trying to bundle a squirming and crying child, no amount of sweaters will make anything better. In Texas, all you need is air conditioning or a pool, and a tall glass of iced tea and everything really is better.
We're celebrating our brief freedom by cleaning. We call it the winter purge. Piles of old papers, magazines, receipts, and kids art work have been swept off the desk into piles on our dining room table while we figure out what to do with our trash and treasure. We are plowing through the kids toys and books and stuff, dumping the destroyed dolls, the vandalized tea sets, and the torn pop-up books, all the while trying to convince our sobbing children that it's for the best. Clutter has overtaken our apartment, and, like the snow that piles up below, it's time to dig out of the mess.
It's not all drudgery. We're scheduling playdates for the kids, and my husband is planning on taking the big ones ice skating for the first time. I wish I could be there, but I'm still working. My religious girls school doesn't take off for the traditional winter break, so I'm still slogging away at aerobics, passing skills, and now, badminton! My break comes in late January when everyone else is back to work. Until then, I pretend to be on vacation, drinking a mojito while bundled up in a blanket. It's an incongruity that challenges the imagination, but I'm working it.
My husband is doing something he hasn't been able to all semester: enjoy a football game. Although considering how his Vikings are doing, he's still not enjoying himself.
We're not going to spend the entire break dusting and rearranging. We have a four-day extravaganza at a kosher resort in the Wisconsin Dells planned for next week, and Motzei Christmas, Tuesday evening, we're having some adult friends over for Mexican food, and, you guessed it, Mojitos!
We may or may not get the home front in order. We may or may not keep the kids adequately entertained for the next two weeks. We may or may not enjoy every sporting event we catch on TV. But one thing is for certain about winter vacations: they pass too quickly.
Some moments, however, will linger a lifetime. My eight year old son gave a D'var Torah, a mini-sermon, in front of a chapel full of teenage boys. He discussed the blessing Jacob gave to Ephraim and Menasse, his grandsons. What lesson, my son pondered, do we learn from Jacob's insistence on crossing his hands and blessing the younger Ephraim first? My son concluded that we learn that sometimes we think we know best, but our elders often know more than we do, "'Pecifically our Torah Scholars." I smiled so much it hurt. And when I went to hug my beaming boy, he pushed me away with an "aaw, Mom!" He's growing up too fast.
Winter breaks speed by, my son is turning into a young man before my eyes, and law school? We're halfway through! One and a half more winters to go. I'll take the warmth where I can get it: a brief visit with a good friend, a cup of hot chocolate, the nachat my children give me. I can always try one more scarf or hat, but these amazing days will never be back.
posted by law school widow at 8:35 PM
2 Comments:
it's hard getting used to the mid-winter break, but you'll love it when you're off and no one else is. Malls aren't crowded, museums are empty, and those that go to Florida say it's deserted there too. Me, I just want to sleep.
Vacations at a kosher resort nowadays really is something worth looking forward to, considering not too many vacation venues today offer such.
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