Check Out Time is Promptly 2:15pm

I don't know about all of you in the great blogosphere, but it has become very apparent around here that the Hesterfamily is shutting down for Christmas Break a little too early. I have had an enormous desire to keep my girls home from school...call them in sick every day....just to have some extra time with them. I want to make cookies with them, wrap presents with them, play endless hours of the Wii with them, spend lazy stretches of time watching old movies with them, sip hot chocolate with them, and maybe even get them to help me with those Christmas Cards that haven't gone out yet. But alas, we still have so much left to do in the obligations of school department...and we get out tomorrow at 2:15. I just cannot wait!!! I feel so celebratory, I want to throw a gigantic party for our family and all our school-aged raising friends, who just might be feeling the same way we do.

Gregg and I have been trying to hide these early "checked out" symptoms from our girls...but I don't think it is working very well. We didn't want them to be infected by our contagion. Yet, we have been seeing signs as if they have caught the bug too, despite all the whispering, sighs, wimpers, and groans we have been making apparently not too privately. Guess it has been pretty obvious that we have wanted to officially call it quits in the effort arena of tasks and "to-dos" as well.

Since evidence shows with all high probability the girls have mentally "left the building," it has been difficult to challenge them to stay afloat until Friday at 2:15. It all comes down to the proverbial "Do as I say...not as I do" in reference to the behavior they seem to be witnessing in their parents. If Faith were to check out academically now, there could be huge ramifications for her come January. We don't want that for her...but we are having a hard time fighting this ourselves. How can we honestly expect it out of her? Hopie is another story. She can check out at this point in her academic career and not pay too strongly for it. Wish we could all be sitting in that catbird seat.

How about you? Where is your family sitting when it comes to anticipating Christmas break? How have you held the reigns in keeping your family task-oriented when everybody seems to be saying "Check, please!"