What I want for Christmas this year is family time. Good, quality, distraction-free family time. And, by golly, I’m going to get it.

I haven’t taken more than 2 days off in a row in almost 4 years. The last time I took 2 days off in a row was for my grandfather’s funeral. This Christmas, I’m going to have some real time off – 9 days of no work! As part of my new job, we get Christmas break off since the campus is completely shut down. It doesn’t count against vacation days and there shouldn’t be any emails or phone call coming in.

When I announced to the boys that Mommy was going to be home from work for 9 days, Dylan said “yeah, but you’ll be working.”

“Nope,” I said. “I won’t be working. at. all.”

They are thrilled. I’m thrilled. We’re not jetting off to some exotic place or having a weeklong ski vacation, but we will have some quality time together where we can all get sick of each other.
Well, Lois will still have to work, so she’ll get a break from us.

I’m excited about the time off and feel like I can enjoy it guilt-free. I don’t have any real plans yet, but I’m envisioning some mornings in my pajamas, drinking coffee while watching the boys play with some (if they’re good) toys and games. Maybe a few “family game nights” together over the break. Who knows, maybe even a “mystery ride” for an overnight somewhere close!

I hope everyone gets to spend some quality time with their families and/or friends over the holidays. And, please, if you can, take a break from work, put down the laptop and cell phone and see the joy in the faces of everyone around you!

Enjoy the holidays! Make sure you breathe and slow down!