Not exactly a spa vacation

When I scheduled a couple of days off so I could help out during Stefan's recovery, I didn't expect this time to be so rewarding. This was truly a much needed mini-vacation in the midst of hectic times at work. I think someone up there must have known that I needed a break from the hassle of "work," so that I could focus more on the enjoyment--and work--of parenting and cooking.



Not that every moment was fun and exciting and thrilling... there was that morning that Jameson refused to put his socks on and ran around the house screaming, almost making Alex and Henry late for school. And there was that time he tripped and fell into a puddle on the way to a museum, forcing us to return to the car for a change of pants in the pouring rain. Those times almost made me yearn for the quiet and orderliness of, say, a meeting at work, where everyone wears their socks without complaining. But that doesn't stop me from dwelling on the good times.



I had three days, three-whole-days, of time with Jameson. I remember when Alex was this age, and we lived in Virginia. I remember how often I would leave work as early as I could and pick him up from day-care. We'd have our time together, just the two of us. We'd share a bagel at the coffee shop, or go on a walk to the playground, or just play with legos. We had hours and hours of time together. But Jameson... he's always having to fight off his big brother for attention, and we never get those long, indulgent hours of time together.



Until now, that is. Here are a few pictures taken with my phone, so the picture quality may be low even though the quality of the memory is high.



This picture is on Monday, our simplest excursion. We went to the cafe for muffins, juice, and tea. Then we walked around downtown a little, enjoying the fact that the weather was unseasonably warm. We stopped to watch a recycling truck for a few minutes. The men in the truck noticed and were kind enough to wave and honk, thrilling us to no end. Then we walked on to Kerrytown to check out Monahan's Seafood. Sometimes on Saturdays they have live lobsters sitting out. Jameson is equally enthralled and scared of them. While there weren't any lobsters, the man kindly indulged Jameson and put an octopus out on the counter for him to look at and touch.





On Tuesday, we went to the Dinosaur Museum, otherwise known as the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum of Natural History. We didn't spend a long time there--he does have the stereotypical attention span of a toddler!--but we looked at the dinosaur bones and the mastodons and the Native American dioramas. But, sticking to yesterday's theme, Jameson enjoyed this pre-historic octopus the best.



On Wednesday, we went to the Hands-On Museum, which is always a favorite. As you can see, Jameson really enjoyed making a huge bubble around himself. It was a joy to watch him explore the museum on his own terms... without a brother to tag along after, or really anyone to influence him (getting there right at opening on a rainy day means an empty museum... at least for a few minutes!).

So while this wasn't exactly a trip to the spa or a relaxing vacation on the beach, it was a much-needed break from the ordinary, and a return to the things that matter most... time with kids, time to cook, time to slow down.

This was such a nice little break that I might have to repeat this again sometime soon... only without the surgery and ear infections.