This week was, miraculously, spring break for both the school I work for and the school I attend! What did I decide to do with my week "off"? Well, the first part was already decided for me because midterm grades were due by Monday, so I spent the weekend grading. The end was sort of out of my hands, too, as I have needed my wisdom teeth pulled for about a decade now and finally got around to doing it. I got them all pulled this morning and will probably be somewhat bed-bound for at least the next couple days.
I had grading papers on one end and searing pain on the other (who can tell the difference? Get it? Seriously, though, my students' papers were amazing and made me feel excited to get back to them next week). That left me the middle to enjoy.
I spent Monday cleaning my house and watching Bones. I really know how to live it up, huh?
Tuesday, though, I decided to spend the day by taking some time to be by myself. I'm hardly ever alone without work to do. I get to steal a lot of moments away when it's to hole up in a coffee shop hunched over a computer screen, but I have very free moments of solitude that allow me to actually look at the world around me, so I set off with the sound of The Muppets "Me Party" playing in my head.
I went shopping because that's a thing people do for fun, I've heard. One problem: I don't like shopping, and I remembered that pretty quickly. I did get a cute skirt from a second-hand shop, but each clothing store I went into after that felt more and more like a chore and less like fun. It was fairly cold, but warm enough to walk outside, so I started just walking around taking pictures instead of shopping. 
I was enjoying the scenery and the peace of not having to chase a toddler for a few moments.
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| You can almost see the serenity. |
I passed by a second-hand shop that was going out of business, and I decided to walk in, fully expecting to just browse and then continue my walk. Instead, I found this:
That is an 1890's Murphy travel wardrobe. It is the exact thing I have had in my mind when I imagine a perfect (self-cleaning, of course) child's room. My daughter loves to play dress-up (though I have no idea where she got this inclination, as it is definitely neither inherited nor learned from me. Her dad does have a lot of shoes . . .), and I want to encourage her imaginative life. What could be better to stock full of dress-up clothes than this?
My day of solitude ended when my daughter got home from daycare and was excited to start filling her present up with Mardi Gras beads, but--truth be told--serenity is a little overrated.
The next day was definitely not serene. I decided it was time to take my daughter to my favorite place in the entire world (I realize I have not been to all of the places in the world. Right now, though, this one is winning). The City Museum is an amazing place that everyone should go see. (If you've never been to St. Louis, here's a great article on the other reasons you should come visit!) The City Museum is a huge warehouse full of found object art turned into an adult-sized jungle gym. It is beautiful, fun, constantly changing, and full of energy. I could go there every single day. I have only been twice since my daughter was born, though, because I was afraid of taking her there too soon. She has no fear, not even the healthy kind that keeps you alive, and the City Museum is full of caves and passages big enough for her to run through quickly yet small enough for me to wedge myself through slowly. I could see that not ending well.
The time had come to let her give it a try. I took my mom with me, so we outnumbered her. I also avoided the most cavernous part (the caves, aptly enough). We all had a great time, and my daughter even listened pretty well.
After three hours of running, jumping, falling, crawling, sliding, and laughing, I had to hoist her over my shoulder and carry her to the parking lot as she reached over my shoulders yelling "I want to see something else!" That's exactly how I think you should always leave the City Museum, so I'm calling it a success.
Sure, the weather decided to become a sunny, gorgeous 70 for the two days of break that I'm going to be spending in the most pain. And, yes, I can't open my mouth enough to talk at the moment. Overall, though, it was a great spring break, and I'm happy that I got a good mix of peace and chaos.
What's been going on in your world? Anything fun?
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