Did I mention this?

That I just love the summer holidays? And it comes to an end today :( The kids are back in school tomorrow and I feel the holiday blues.

I love reliving my school years through my children. So I was just as excited for the summer holidays as they are. The 6 weeks of the holidays might seem daunting to a few parents. But this year did not seem so bad. Both K and I were working from home. We had activities and leaves planned out. The kids were more independent. This was Pumpki's first ever school summer holiday too.  I was very keen to see how she was going to fare through this new phase. 

K was on leave the first week of the school hols. He took them around for the first couple of days, feeding them in restaurants and keeping them busy outdoors. One of the days, they stepped out of the house at 9 and weren't back till 1730. I finished work and had some time to put my feet up and read a book for 45 minutes! An unseen and unheard of feat on a weekday evening.

The next week the girls went for holiday club for 3 days of the week which was quite a good experience. They both were in the same club with a bunch of kids from other schools. Chiyaa did take the role of the being the person in charge, and Pumpki was very happy to be under her wing. It was a unique experience to have them both maneuver  a different setting. It was back to a more social set up too. On another positive note it gave K and me the lunch hour for our runs.

Week 3 and I was in charge of the girls. And me being in charge entailed a lot of walks :) There was a lot ice cream, milkshakes and pizzas too. It was super relaxing going on dinosaur trails and castle walks with the two munchkins who have become little ladies in their own right.

Week 4 the girls were left to their own devices at home. And did they manage themselves or what! They were drawing, coloring, reading and being just splendid by themselves. They started making a chain of paper dolls and kept going at it for 2 days.At the end of it, they had some 54 dolls strung together. We managed to catch up a few friends and also host a play date which was super enjoyable. 

Week 5 and the girls were back in holiday club. But I seemed to have an issue with my eye. It had been a recurring problem where there was redness in my right eye. I have had it on and off for over 7-8 years. But this time it was a bit more acute and did not go away with the usual remedies from pharmacies. I went in to the doctors with a very severe redness on the Saturday. There were quite a few invasive tests, including an injection in the eye. I was super uncomfortable. Once back I spent the day puking and just feeling very sick. I slept for close to 14 hours at a go. I was missing out on time with the gals, but getting better was imperative since we had a trip planned the coming Monday. I was on crazy medications and hoping that in the next few days I would be better. I had nearly no sight in my right eye. Not no sight as in black, more like as if I was not wearing my glasses. Monday evening by the time we stepped out of  the house, I was way better than I had been. 

The holiday was just so refreshing that I had no words for it. The drive was supremely scenic. The cottage we lived in was an idyllic quiet setting. We braved the weather and did a lot of outdoor activities. We undertook a very very scenic walk through the coast to a castle. The kids too enjoyed the walk and did not grumble about it even once. We have seasoned the kids into walkers which made things very easy for us. K and I both enjoy walking a lot. That is one of our primary activities during holidays. That the kids have also warmed up to it and borderline enjoying it makes it even better. They are not fussed about food and are very happy having the usual sandwiches and crisps and the occasional ice cream to keep their blood sugars up.

Week 6 done in the arms of a very scenic place, we were not at all ready to head off home. But that is where we had to get to since routine awaited us. Luckily I was meeting with an ex-colleague friend of mine over the weekend and spent close to 3 hours chatting with her which was super enjoyable.

It has been a very special 6 weeks for me. The first summer with two school going kids. The first summer with no parents around because we generally try to have them to spend time with the kids. The first summer when both K and I were working from home and could distribute child care duties. First "normal" summer post pandemic. A memorable summer in every way possible.