When Spring Break Goes Wrong

Last week was spring break for our kids. We had big plans. We had a camping site reserved outside of St. Augustine and had plans to camp from Sunday to Wednesday. We were going to alternate between time at the campsite, the beach, and exploring St. Augustine. I had even done my camping grocery shopping. And then, Mother Nature reared her head, as Mother Nature is prone to do.

It was cold during spring break! That never happens here! And I know that most of you reading this are dealing with, like, actual cold weather, but here in Orlando, 60 degrees is COLD and definitely NOT camping weather. Plus, it was rainy. And that is definitely NOT MY camping weather.

We decided on Sunday morning to pull the plug on our camping trip and have a little staycation instead. Chris and I had both taken the days off of work, so we decided to make the most of our time together.

We went to see Captain Marvel with a friend and it was great! We even had popcorn and candy for lunch that day!

We got a group of families together and went to a hockey game here in Orlando. Our hockey team, the Solar Bears (whose mascot is a giant bear wearing sunglasses whose name is Shades…), is not great. But we love the games. Especially $5 ticket nights! Usually, they will send out an email on game day during the middle of the week when they try to fill seats and we can never go because of school. But this time, we got the email during spring break! Whoop! $20 for our family to do anything is a deal!

The kids were stoked because they spent half the night on the jumbotron. Turns out that light crowds increase your odds of jumbotron fame.

But we also did a fair amount of just hanging out together. Lots of lazy mornings, lots of late nights, lots of board games, lots of movies.

We even managed to get over to the rink where Chris plays hockey on Saturdays and played a while together. I was goalie for a little bit, but then was declared not fit to protect the net, so Gracie took over. She was only slightly better, but cried a little more. Bean got a pair of rollerblades for street hockey at Christmas, so he and Chris literally skated circles around me and Gracie. And then someone hit me with a puck and the afternoon was over. Game over if you hit mom. That’s a universal hockey rule.

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I’m pretty sure that Chris’s greatest achievement as a dad so far has been teaching his kids to love hockey in all forms – NHL, local teams, street, ice – we love it all!

Chris and I went back to work on Wednesday, just as the heavens opened up and the most beautiful weather shone down on Orlando. Ugh. But we refused to have spring break end without a beach day, so on Sunday, we packed our gear up and headed to the beach for the first time this year.

It was so good to be out in the sunshine. The beach is my happy place and I am so glad we have kicked off our beach season! We are lucky to live close enough for a day trip, but while we were there, Chris and I daydreamed of living permanently at the beach. Maybe in one of those 60’s style houses that is really low to the ground in a fun, bright color. With beach cruisers that have cupholders and we would wear bathing suits and tennis shoes and a fanny pack. And our car would be replaced by a golf cart with two beach chairs strapped to the back. Actually, it sounds a lot like my life goal is to be retired now that I think about it…

So, spring break wasn’t what we thought it would be, but if we have learned anything over the years, it’s how to roll with it. How to change tracks. How to adjust, be flexible, and bloom where we are planted. And when life plants you unexpectedly at the beach on a Sunday afternoon, well, then bloom, dammit!