Is it Spring Break yet?

Hurrah! Bravo!! We all survived School House Rock LIVE, Jr. and it was a terrific show. Our school is incredibly fortunate to have people who gave generously of their time and energy to get the show up and running: a dedicated director in Mrs. Bishop, an inspirational musical director in Ms. Chang, and an energetic choreographer in Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Thornton and several parent volunteers offered great leadership to the crew and props teams, and the kids themselves showed wonderful teamwork and responsibility. I am immensely proud of Lydia, and she also earned some very high praise from Mrs. Bishop and Mrs. Thornton, as well as other adults (and kids!) involved in the show. The performances went very well, and if I had any doubts about the theater bug having bitten my firstborn they are completely dispelled now. Though I do think she prefers being behind the scenes to being under the lights. But she says next year she'll try out for Cast rather than crew... Time will tell.

Anyway, the Friday night of the play was also the night my mom (“Gigi” to the kids) flew home to NH after a two week visit. This year her spring break did not coincide with any of our spring breaks (our school's, cousin Ava's school's, or Auntie Alice's school's!) so it was a somewhat hectic visit. It was fun, though, and she got to see one of Evan's baseball games as well as the Warwick school play (see former post). I had a little bit of time alone with her, which is rarer and rarer with each successive visit on either coast. I am so pleased with the bond my kids feel with my mom, but I do wish that they would see a little more significance in the fact that she is my mom just as much as she is their Gigi.

I wonder what my relationships with my kids will be in 25-30 years, and how my hypothetical grandchildren will fit into the equation. My mom's relationships with me and my siblings are so strong and I hope the same will be true of mine with Lydia and Evan. Though I sincerely hope Evan will require less supervision than my brother from whatever guardian angels seem to (thankfully) feel an allegiance to the family. While my mom was here my brother managed to survive (just barely) an avalanche in the Bridger Mountains of Montana. He was literally saved by a tree into which the snow threw him, breaking his femur in the process, from which he hung for some time by his broken leg before the only other crazy fool up on the mountain (who happened to be an EMT with a functioning radio) managed to chisel his way down to my brother's tree and get him out of it. The EMT/angel in disguise called in a helicopter which airlifted my brother to a waiting ambulance, where they had to set his leg while bouncing down the rest of the mountain en route to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital. The neurologist who worked with my brother when he broke his neck in 2004 stopped in when he saw my brother's name on the surgery board: a small-town touch in a brilliantly staffed medical facility. My brother now has a titanium rod in his left thigh. I wonder how much he's worth in parts? The point of this story is that there was some unexpected stress during my mom's visit, on top of the usual busyness of all the schedules and events and excitement.

The good news is Spring Break starts on Friday, and we have absolutely no plans! I, for one, am not terribly sad not be going to the mountains. I don't think I'll tell Andrew or the kids, but I'm feeling like I need to steer clear of the snow for a while. I think we may have used up the family quota of angel points for one ski season!