1 Mother 2 Another

Maddie had Monday off of school – to
the rest of the country it might have been Columbus Day, but here
in Texas it was state fair day. We have the coolest, biggest state
fair in the country (and I’m not being a sarcastic New Yorker
here, I really love it) and every school district gives students a
day off and a free ticket to go.


I knew Monday would be jam-packed, but I wanted to go to the fair
before it closes this weekend. And Maddie’s been handling
school so well, and is so tired, that I threw caution to the wind
and took Tuesday off to go instead, giving Maddie a four-day
weekend.

I was not without concerns, of course: now
that Maddie knows we have a little bit of control over whether or
not she goes to school, we may be in for some rough mornings. But I
spent a lot of time stressing this was a really special thing and
wouldn’t happen again this year. Then I built up the four-day
weekend as a family Staycation. And boy did we Staycate.


We had colored Cheerios (Fruit Loops) for breakfast one morning,
and sweet rolls another. We went out for ice cream, and ordered in
for dinner. We went to our local arboretum and saw a favorite
children’s concert, got faces painted, and hit the petting
zoo. We picnicked. We went to the park with friends. We snuggled in
bed and watched videos.


And you know what? By the end of Tuesday, I’d bought into the
hype myself, and was sad to see our staycation end. We’d
spent four mornings sleeping in (though both girls were up before
7:30 every day) and countless hours with absolutely no agenda. We
made our own pillow-lined cabana out in the back yard and read tons
of books while listening to Hawaiian music. In short, it was
heaven.


And yes, the fair topped it all off spectacularly, from the
deep-fried Frito Pie to the neon-pink cotton candy. We rode rides,
and ogled the fair’s prize-winning pig, and fed lots of baby
goats. I’m telling you, the fair rocks.


The morning’s not begun yet for Maddie, so I can’t tell
you what the consequences will be. Hopefully she’ll go back
to school refreshed and ready to hit the rest of the fall running.


Hopefully.