Spring Break Begins

My call of “bedtime!” was answered by Patches groaning “Not again!” Yes indeed son, we have bedtime every single evening. It’s just one of those things he’s going to have to get used to. How he’s failed to get used to it in the three years he’s been around, is something of a mystery, but go figure.

Kiki and Link met my bedtime announcement with excitement which at first baffled me. Patches reaction is a much more familiar one. Then I realized that Kiki and Link had hatched a plan to have a slumber party on the family room floor. “It’s Friday mom! There’s no school tomorrow!” Not only that, but it is the beginning of their spring break and the kids are feeling celebratory. They’d even weakened my request resistance by cheerfully helping clean up the disaster area that we call our family room. Now there was all that clean and freshly vacuumed space and they wanted to put it to good use.

The problem with slumber parties is that getting to the slumber part involves much giggling, squealing, and parental intervention. Frequently the only way they sleep at all is when I separate them entirely. I didn’t really want to deal with it. I especially didn’t want to deal with it when they’re all hyper on the abundance of candy they got at the “easter egg hunt” we attended this evening. Attendance at said hunt became mandatory when someone from our church taped a hot pink reminder notice to our door and Kiki found it. Kiki is fully capable of reading, checking calendar and clock, announcing impending candy to her siblings, and whipping them all into a froth of anticipation. There were no eggs at this hunt, just candy. Lots of candy strewn across lawns for kids to pick up by the basketful. My kids are not stupid, they filled their baskets. To give them credit, they then cheerfully shared with kids who came late or who didn’t gather as fast. We still came home with enough sugar for a houseful of headaches. So you can see why the idea of a slumber party did not make me dance for joy.

On the other hand, the kids make this request fairly frequently and it is almost always denied for very sensible reasons like mandatory school attendance the next morning. Tonight the sensible reasons had all been dispatched. The kids had been cheerful workers and despite the influx of sugar, they had all completely failed to squabble with each other. I realized that the only reason not to have a slumber party was that it might inconvenience me. Not a good enough reason. So they got their slumber party. I did change the venue to the floor of the bedroom that Link and Patches share. It is a smaller space with a door that I can shut. I also made sure that the kids most likely to squabble were separated by those least likely to squabble. Theoretically the containment and separation of squabblers will reduce the nuisance factor and allow me to maybe watch a movie later. So far so good, but the night is yet young.

We aren’t planning anything big for spring break. I’ve got enough big things looming that I don’t feel like adding any more is a good idea. So it is pretty important to do small special things like this slumber party. We’ll probably rent some movies, maybe have a game night. But mostly this week will be spent out in the yard riding bikes and preparing the vegetable garden for planting. If I pitch it right the kids might even consider that fun. Or not, but at least they got their slumber party.