Free time blues - or It's not free time if you have a kid with you

Today, a little more or a little less then 1 982 years ago Christ presumably ascendeded to Heaven, to take his rightful place at his Divine Fathers right side. It's Ascension Day, vulgary known as "Christs Flyingday" for some of us less reverent Swedes, and in this mostly agnostic country, were the Church and the State however didn't part ways until aboout ten years ago, this is a holiday. And since tomorrow is surrounded by holidays, the next day being Saturday, most people have time off that day too. So do we. It's a four day weekend.

And the big practical implication of our Lord and Saviours ascension is that the pre-school is closed - totally today, and we elected to have little S home tomorrow too. I think we both kind of regret that decision now, three hours into the four days of  "free time". Being free from school and work is not relaxing, when it is offset by having a hyper two year old home four days in a row, having to think up kid-friendly activities her every waking moment, which spans from six in the morning to around nine in the evening, with an hourlong nap in the middle of the day, which is the only thing that makes us keep at least a weak grasp on our respective sanities.

I know there's people who long to be with their kids. I know also that there's kids that actually sleep something like twelve hours every night and still takes a nap. And who has a personality that you can be relaxed around, who isn't constantly on the verge of a temper tantrum, or about to invent yet another kind of violent or destructive new hobby. I don't know, however, if any of those children are two and a half year old. I think some of them might be.

I really do think we're good mothers, me and Mistress. But I also know we're very tired mothers a lot of the time, and the strain of having to be on top of each other four days straight is not what I would call relaxing. Right now, I kind of long for Monday, when we go back to our normal routines.

In a little while, Mistress and little S will return from the grocery store, hopefully packed with goodies for our ten-o'clock coffee, and I'm sure I'll perk up after that. When all else fails, there's always sugar...