How five days off can seem like one day.

We visited my alma mater on Wednesday. Rather, my best friend and I sat in a condo on the outskirts of my alma mater for half the day, scolding/chasing/soothing our four children while intermittently catching up on events since our last chaotic get-together. And she’s going to bring another kid into the mix?!?! What happened to dinner and drinks?

Thanksgiving. Visiting with the in-laws. Allergic reaction emergency. Stopping at parents for medication and to put up half of their Christmas Tree. Visiting with the extended family. Thinking, why do we, on holidays, get the girls all dolled up, take the Beans to an unfamiliar home and subject them to [well-meaning] strangers who coo and fawn and beg to hold them when clearly it’s the last place they want to be? The end result of every family get-together is us carrying our limp and defeated little Beans up to their safe crib and then falling into a pile on the couch, wondering why we left the house in the first place.

Black Friday. Or rather, “Yeah, right Friday.” I don’t love anyone enough to stand in a line at Target that is wrapped around the perimeter of the store. Nor do I need that twenty dollars I would have saved had I waited three hours. The bonus was that I got to sneak out for a bagel and coffee while J manned the fort. Later that day, we braved the crowds for lunch with Gramma M and a little sale at the Baby Gap. Later that evening, after the Beans were in bed, J and I put up the tree. The Sixth Annual Christmas Decorating Extravaganza was likely the last one we’d spend alone for the next twenty or so years. We passed out on the couch watching Home Alone. A success!

On Saturday, Gramma M. had a little post-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Dinner for our wee little family, since we missed out on Gram’s Dressing (my paternal grandmother’s recipe – the grandmother that M is named after). We purchased half the lights available at Target and scoured the internets for instructions on how to hang outdoor Christmas lights. Yes, you read it correctly. Remember, this is a couple who refused to move into any home with such incentives as, “A cozy fixer-upper!” or “Just waiting for your personal touch!”

Sunday, bloody Sunday. Well, we put the lights up. In light of the fact that the event did not result in threats of divorce or more than one injury (and really, it is just a little bruise, who are we kidding?), I’d say that it was a success. And it was confirmed with a resounding “Wow!” by both Beans when we showed off our handiwork later that evening. After the lights but before the light show, we took the girls to Borders and B&N to grab a magazine (J), a book (M&A) and a coffee (MB). Let me just tell you, M may be the shyest of the two when it comes to relatives, but she was all “How’s Your Day?” when we were at the bookstore! She practiced her more graceful walking all over the store, befriended a little boy who was making a Christmas list and passed up a little whipped cream for the lady with the big red bag. As evening crept in and the Beans were in bed, I surveyed the house for signs that things were accomplished on my vacation. I concluded that it was a wonderful five days but wondered if I was being a little selfish if I lobbied for a sixth day off to rest.