Spring Break! Party on!

This week is my spring break from teaching. I am not teaching as much this spring because of the house and the impending move so it doesn’t make that huge of a difference in my week, but it still lovely to contemplate a week off from all manner of gainful employment. Of course, at my other job you never get a spring break, or weekends off, or really even a day off at all, come to think of it. Being a mommy does not have good hours, I will admit.

This morning Grace and I are listening to an iTunes mix entitled “Julia’s Favorite Songs”. Every time a new song comes on, my first thought is, “Oh, I love this song!” Probably this shouldn’t surprise me every time.

I have been fighting some kind of cold for almost a month now and I have grown quite weary of it. I have progressed from sore throats and achy-ness to lingering sinus and ear congestion. Oh, the ears... I believe that is my least favorite part of a jaunt into upper respiratory illness. Being vaguely sick is so tiresome; one isn’t sick enough to actually go to a doctor or be excused from normal responsibilities, but day after day is tainted with discomfort and vexation. When I am finally well, I know I will take great pleasure in feeling hale and hearty. I sometimes forget how lovely it is to have a fully functioning body, but being sick for a while does make me relish my return to health.

In the past couple of weeks, Grace has finally started sleeping through the night with some regularity. I know! And she’s only two years old! What a sleeping prodigy! No, really, I know that is not typical and if we were willing to take more drastic measures she probably would have done this much earlier. However, we did what we were comfortable with and it wasn’t all that terrible in the interim. We really did all sleep well, despite Grace’s waking and coming to join us in the big bed at some point in the night. Anyway, she has recently started sleeping in her own crib straight through from 8pm until sometime between 6am and 7am. Previous to this new development, it was sometime between 3am and 5am, and she would then regularly sleep until 8am with us. Such luxury...

A luxury that now appears to be finished, unfortunately. She may be sleeping on her own, but she is getting up earlier now, which means I am getting less sleep than before. I need to start going to bed earlier, I think. I have found myself feeling very droopy and spent come mid-afternoon lately. I must tell you, however, about this marvelous substance I have discovered-- caffeine! You ingest some of it and then suddenly, you are full of energy and renewed vigor to face the rest of your day! I’ve never been a regular coffee drinker (despite my very great appreciation of its bracing deliciousness) and a cup of coffee can make me feel jittery and interfere with my sleep. However, I have stumbled upon the delightful alternative of green tea. (Hmmm, I see from this link that I could obtain the same caffeine with 1 oz. of dark chocolate. More delicious, but also more calories...) It seems to provide just the right amount of caffeine, along with the fortifying, calming ritual of making it and drinking it. Hooray for staying awake!