A Very Good Day Off

The down side of working as much as I need to at this time is that the times you have to rest are very few and far between, not to mention the way-too-small amount of time you have to spend with the family. So this week, while the kids are on Spring Break, I took a well-deserved day off with my new found PTO time now that I'm hired permanent. There was some concern that since it had been raining so much that we might be stuck at home, but that was not the case.

We started with an early lunch before leaving the house for some minor errands. The day took a temporary darker turn when I went into the world's largest retailer, someone who worked there reminded me that I did too. Don't get me wrong, now, it's not so bad a place, but its effect on me is very negative because I don't want to have to work on the weekends. I would rather rest. Well, this put me on edge for a little while, but we had resolved to have a good day, and after working a Rubik's Cube that was hanging around, I felt a bit better.

Now, the plan was to hit the zoo, but I was worried for a bit that since they'd gone to the zoo for an Easter Egg Hunt related to their Nana's work, they might not be so excited to go again so soon. My worries were abated. They were perfectly happy to go again, and even excited to do so. I was relieved, since Iwe didn't have much else planned.

We started through the zoo with the stroller for SassyPants to ride while the others walked. She rode for a little while, then walked, and then I had to carry her. Oh well. That's her lot. That's what she does at the moment. I have to carry her everywhere we go.

The Queen said this day was a good picture day, since a lot of the animals that are normally quite standoffish were practically posing for the camera. A giraffe was right up next to the fence to their compound; the zebras were up next to their fence looking at us; the lemurs were running around crazy (until we got up next to them). It was a decent zoo day. Sometimes, you strike out when it comes to watching the critters run about, but this was a good day.

Following the zoo, we did something called letterboxing. You can read about it on letterboxing.org. Kindof a wild little activity where you follow instructions from that site to find a "letterbox" that someone placed in a public area somewhere. We did this during a recent trip to Roaring River, Mo as well, and while you can sometimes come up short on the box when it has been removed by someone, today, we were a two time success on finding the boxes.

If you're wondering the point, it's all about the hunt more than the contents. These usually contain a little blank book and a stamp. You have your own stamp and book as well, so you essentially trade stamps. You stamp their book with your stamp and your book with their stamp. Then, you put it all back where you found it so the next person can find it. It's quasi-secretive in that you don't want someone who doesn't know what to do to find the letterbox (which doesn't have to be a box -- it can be a bag or anything else that can survive the elements) and make off with it or destroy it.

Following the letterboxing, we went home because everyone was still tired after the zoo, and it was getting to be dinner time. Once home, we capped off the evening with a movie night to watch the recent video release of Enchanted, a Disney film that both spoofs their own princess "genre" as well as giving it a twist and ripping the princess out of the animated work and into our real world "where there are no happy endings."

The movie had enough tongue in cheek to balance its sappiness to make it a pretty good movie. The bit where the princess, in our world, burst into random song and everyone just played along was very fun, and even better was when she called the animals for help. So picture a house full of vermin working diligently to clean up. Would you be willing to tell your houseguests that the immaculate room was cleaned by rats? (and let's not discuss who washed the dishes)

The Socialite has become quite the movie hound. She loves watching films and shows on DVD, and when the movie was playing, she was the one who was right behind the bowl of popcorn, while the other two had long since lost interest.

But the day rounded off very, very well with the kids and bed, and the Queen and I having a quiet evening together. It was a very refreshing day off, and I loved having the time to spend with my wife and family. With my weekends as screwed up as they are at the moment, I don't get a lot of days like this, so I soaked in every minute (except the bits where I was grumpy about having to work on the weekends).

For the time being, business has returned to "as usual," so despite it being Easter Weekend, I'm looking at another weekend of working at nights and missing everyone during the days, and this cycle will continue for probably another 8 weeks. I don't like it, but it's a mess I have to clean up, so I'll deal. I've been going at it since last June, so another 8 weeks isn't going to hurt me any worse.

But I need more days like that Wednesday, and with the weekends opened up, it will be that much easier to obtain them. I very much look forward to that time.