REST

1. the refreshing quiet or repose of sleep.

Only one member of our family slept through the night last night.  Which one?  The male one.  K came upstairs at 3:45 because she'd had an accident and needed help finding clean underwear in her drawer in her dark bedroom.  B apparently woke up at 2:30 and was awake for a bit and A announced with much drama this morning that she'd been up since 4:30 and only fell back into semi-sleep (her term) after that.  She announced this with such flair to help account for the fact that she'd just yelled at her sister for making a request as A packed the school lunches.  We could all use a bit of rest around here - even J, who managed a full night's sleep.

Fall break starts tomorrow and it can't get here soon enough.  In a perfect world, we would start fall break as soon as school ends today.  In a perfect world, A would have next week off from her tutorial so that the entire week would be free and clear.  In a perfect world, fall break would find nothing on our schedule for eight straight days.  Instead, today we'll head straight to a dentist appointment after school for K, then across town to a dress rehearsal for A.  A will be at tutorials next Tuesday while B and K and I do something else.  And we'll still have an activity of some sort every single night next week.  Yes, that's right.  Every night.

All I really want to do is come home, eat a warm soup for dinner (accompanied by a crusty bread) and go straight to bed.  And follow that up with sleeping until 8ish tomorrow and reading books and watching movies until we're ready to take a walk and collect leaves.  Repeat seven times.  Alas, 'tis not to be.

Still, I'll take it.  I love fall break because it changes up our routine, gives us the time for some much needed rest and allows us to re-center ourselves.  Our lives are so busy that it's easy to lose sight of the things that matter most to us.  It's easy to feel like an automaton as I drive A to and from ballet, without pausing to think about all of the things she is learning from dance - discipline, goal setting, teamwork and much more.  A break from everything - however brief - let's me enjoy my girls for who they are, let's us get our minds ready for the season and let's us participate in the rhythm of our world.  Autumn should slow us down as we prepare for the quiet of winter.  We'll use the coming week to do just that.

Perhaps I shouldn't need a break to rest and re-center.  In a perfect world, I would always keep in the front of my mind the most important things - loving God well, loving J well, loving my children well, using my time and talents wisely.  But I don't always succeed in doing that.  I get swept up in the roar, hustle and bustle of daily life.  So instead of bemoaning the ways I fail to make enough time for rest - physical and spiritual - I'll just focus on taking the opportunities life hands me.  Here's to fall break!

Pictures are from last year's fall break trip to Cheekwood.