1 Mother 2 Another

Wednesday was our first day back into our
complete “normal” routine – Maddie didn’t
have school Monday, so Wednesday marked her return to school, as
well as the return of Open Gym for Cora. Maddie looked forward to
returning to school so much that she had trouble getting to sleep
Tuesday night, and Cora would’ve slept in her gym leotard if
I’d let her.

Cora and I had an excellent day together,
and I think it’s at least partly due to being back into a
routine again. Yes, she slept STRAIGHT THROUGH THE NIGHT on Tuesday
night for the first time in weeks, and yes, she napped Tuesday AND
Wednesday (thank you, patron saint of lost naps) so she was in a
much better mood. But I also think it was a good day partly due to
the relief everyone felt of being back into our routine. Maddie
flew to her friends and classroom rules and regulations, and Cora
rejoiced over knowing when gym was, then snack time, then lunch,
then pick-up time for Maddie.


It’s not as if we went crazy and pulled all-nighters for our
two weeks off of school; we did have the girls go to bed at their
regular times, and nap or take quiet time every day. But we only
woke them up for church, and Dad was home for two weeks, and there
were no regular play dates or school times or Open Gym or ballet
classes or any of the usual anchors the girls have in their lives.
And that clearly made a difference.


Time off is good. Hanging out as a family without an agenda is
good. Sleeping in, doing fun things every day, eating treats,
having movie night – all these things are good. But from a
kid’s perspective, there’s a lot to be said for the
comfort of sameness, of knowing what’s coming next, of
predictability.


Come to think of it, that’s rather comforting for a mommy,
too.