The Sunday...before Monday

No man needs a vacation so much as the man who has just had one.
- Elbert Hubbard

Vacation time is what most cosmologists should study in order to determine what exists within a black hole. In a single point where the laws of science break down we find people standing outside in blustery conditions at 4AM to buy a Dora Doll, or traveling to see people who they will grieve for not spending more time but for which they are thankful to only see this one time a year, and eating meals of a large dry bird and a reddish sauce that doesn't flow but rather retains the shape of its original container. These are the true "singularities" of science.

But I am more blessed than most, I have two "singularities"-- like two black holes that spiral around one another, tugging the life force from the universe around them. I have two children, and after spending an entire week with both I realize the importance of the many small blessings in life, namely:

1. Mothers. The unending patience they show to their children (even when they have no patience left) remains a modern marvel of the civilized world.
2. School. Which gives me a livelihood (i.e. reason not be at home with the kids all day), a reason not to keep the kids at home, and a break in the day for #1.
3. Golf. It is cheaper than therapy, and has probably prevented numerous mental breakdowns by fathers.

It is not that I don't love spending time with my children. I love my kids. But that doesn't mean I have to always like them or the insanity they bring to life sometimes. We have had some really "unique" times this week. We put up every last Christmas decoration after the incessant reminders of Megan. Madelyn has learned to call me "da-da," typically after first calling me "ma-ma," "pa-pa," and "bi-ble." And we got a tour of Stamford's Emergency Room and a new teddy bear after what we thought was an ear infection turned out to be a bug eating away at Megan's eardrum. I have a feeling that National Lampoons and Chevy Chase could not have written a better script for some parts of our Thanksgiving vacation.

However, as we get ready to return to school, and life returns to some degree of normalcy, I know that within the first 2-3 hours, I will begin to pine away for Christmas and the 2-weeks I get off for that holiday ("What am I thinking!!!?")