Christmas break is almost over...thanks be to God!

I am a stay-at-home mom.  I have been for nearly two years, and I still don't know if I am good at it.  This past year, with the health problems I have experienced, I probably would have had to quit a job anyway.  But, I will be completely honest when I say I miss two things about work:  the money and the social interaction.  My stay-at-home status was a choice made by my husband and myself to reduce our stress levels.  We did not need my salary to pay the bills, but we do not have as much "mad money" as before when we were a two income household.  It has been an adjustment for me to ask before spending, but I do appreciate the fact that our daughters get more time with both of us. 

All that aside, I am SOOOOOOO ready for Christmas break to be over and for school to be back in session.  The family togetherness is ready to drive me crazy.  I would love to say that we sit around hugging, paying each other compliments, and singing, "Kumbaya," by the fireplace.  Instead, there is a lot of little girl whining and drama about bedtime (Them:  "Why do we have to have a bedtime during Christmas break?"  Me:  "Because I need you to have a bedtime during Christmas break.").  We do have lots of laughs and hugs and fun, but we all are ready for the little time apart that our normal schedules allow us.  My friends and I joke around about boarding schools and sending our girls off to the convent (How do you solve a problem like Maria?  You ship her ass off to Mother Superior in Austria).  Polite, orderly, uniform and beret wearing girls that answer your questions, do not roll their eyes or stomp their foot.....these are the visions that dance in our heads.  The two weeks of Christmas vacation seem longer than summer break.  Maybe the cabin fever from the cold temperatures and snow cause us to feel like we are smothering each other.  Maybe the slight holiday chaos of dinners, gifts, baking, visiting friends and relatives, and more late nights than usual are a lot to cram into two week's time.  Maybe God is trying to tell me that the convent is the right choice for my two daughters.  What I do know is that schools starts again in three days.  I can finally go back to eating my bon-bons without interruption.