Vacation

There has been and will be some vacationing going on around here this month. Last week the boys were on Spring Break (which I discovered much to my surprise the Friday before...I guess I should check the calender more often...). We didn't do much special, apart from going to storytime at our old library one day. But it was good. It felt like a deep breath. Which, like the break itself, came as a surprise to me. I value and count on those three mornings a week as some time to myself - some mini pressure valves in the week. But somehow after the initial dismay wore off, I felt myself relax: here would be a chance to slow down, breathe a little more, rush a little less, maybe even connect a little bit more. And it was.

Then last night I think I reached my limit amid much yelling. Perhaps I'm not quite ready for Summer Break afterall. Two steps forward, one step back.

The other vacationing this month is on Jim's end of things. Needing a break from work and time to make some headway on projects around the farm, he's taking a few long weekends. This past weekend's main project was finishing this year's maple syrup. We came out with less than expected, and hit a few bumps along the way, but came out of it with some mighty fine syrup and our first farm product (aside from eggs) of the year. Pretty exciting. We've also been working on the garden: planting seeds, tending seedlings, transplanting, clearing wood off the garden (from the many small trees Jim took down to increase the amount of light), planting the first lettuces outside in the cold frame, and marking and digging garden beds. There is a long way to go, and the plants are spilling off the shelves onto the dresser and dryer and into the porch. I'm realizing just how out of shape I am, and how much it really does rain in April. The chicks are growing fast: the broilers are in a large pen Jim built in the porch awaiting an outside shelter (hopefully next weekend...) and the layers have graduated to multiple bins in the bathroom and are awaiting the broilers' move outside so they can take over the porch. Just in time for us to pick up our second installment of layers at the end of the month. Have I mentioned there is never a dull moment around here?