3. Time off from work and school

I grew up surrounded by the education world and was about ten years old before I found out that most people actually worked all summer and did not get a nice, long break at Christmas. Even during my stay-at-home mom days, it was hard for me to feel like Christmas was coming because Christmas was supposed to mean a drastic change in the daily routine. As any fulltime mom knows, that doesn't really ever happen. Even when you go on vacation, your children are with you and, therefore, your job is with you.

Returning to the work and school world about five years ago was a very hard thing to do. I loved being a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom, but the time had come to do other things. I have to admit that I love school; I've often said that it's where I feel like a fish in the water. Working in higher education means that I also love my job. If I can't be at home, then I'm exactly where I want to be.

But it's nice to have a break.

It's great to have a few weeks where all of that just stops. No more projects for grad school, no more decisions about weeding books, no more classes to meet with or presentations to plan.

Just life.



A house, kids, home projects, music all over the place, and lots of reading. LOTS of reading.

As much as I love my job and love being a student, it's wonderful to have a break and focus on these people for a while. They're definitely worth it.