Parenting Pause

Hello and welcome to the last Saturday in June here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is June 29th.

For the last three weeks, my husband and I have been parenting-free (more or less). With the youngest kids in the Czech Republic and the adult children coming and going (more going and less coming), we've had a glorious break from regular life.

Three weeks is long enough to change habits. Some of our changes have included staying up late, watching movies, sleeping in, going out for dinner, spending time with friends, minimal cooking, minimal cleaning, and traveling without worrying about covering childcare bases.

Our conversations expanded beyond the usual carousel of topics which largely circle around the proper care and feeding of children. We talked about politics and philosophy and the state of the world. We had time to deeply discuss and tussle through a household renovation project (repurposing a bedroom closet into a linen closet) that resulted in a solution that exemplifies the sweet reward of one of my favorite quotes: "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." - Aristotle.

I watched the Brat Pack documentary and soaked up all the nostalgia of the teen movies that launched a new cinematic era and was my own adolescent touchstone.

I finished watching season 2 of my current favorite TV binge: New Girl

I read two books: James: A Novel, a retelling of Huck Finn from the point of view of Jim the slave, and Beyond That, The Sea a novel about an English girl whose parents send her to America to live with an American family during World War II and how she reconciles and pieces together her two childhoods after the war. Both books in hardcover, it was delicious to crack open a "real book" instead of my usual Kindle/Audible combo. 

Time has slowed down. Like I said, it's been glorious.

The days aren't totally devoid of contact with kids. The younger ones call once a day through WhatsApp. Someone occasionally posts in our Kiddos Snapchat group. The older ones text. But our lives and daily routines aren't running around the children or revolving around their needs or routines.

On Monday we'll be reunited with the little ones. They've done so well without us in the Czech Republic with their grandparents. They sound happy when they call and their grandparents have done a good job filling kids' days with adventures visiting places, meeting people, Czech language lessons, cooking favorite Czech foods like fruit dumplings and fried cheese with babička in the kitchen, and picking rocks and other outdoor tasks with dědeček at the new house they built three doors down.

Yesterday, when I spoke with the littles they were still sounding good and doing well, AND looking forward to seeing us again. We're looking forward to it too. 

A few people have asked me if I miss the children. My honest answer is no. No, because I know that they are building self-confidence, learning how to navigate the world with support that comes from other people, strengthening relationships and connections with their Czech grandparents, family, and culture, and improving their Czech language skills. They are fostering a curiosity about the world and a love of learning. My heart swells with pride and relief when they start each conversation with, "Hey, Mom. Guess what we learned today?"

For me, I know the break is temporary. I know that a break is a gift to rest, relax, and rejuvenate. A break gives us some distance to appreciate the abundance of goodness and stability in our lives and to remember this gratitude when we are in the midst of our regular busy running a family and just plain running. A break makes the heart grow fonder.

The parenting pause has been a win-win - a happy break for us all.