Well, she felt fine physically. Emotionally, she struggled last week.
Spring Break
I enjoyed school as a kid, but I reveled in school breaks. No one having any call on my time, the chance to play for hours on end, endless free time with my mom and my brother. Ah, the halcyon days of school breaks. In the days before part-time jobs and huge term papers took over my spare time, a school break meant a few days of unscheduled freedom. This year, I anticipated L--'s Spring Break eagerly. We would schedule playdates with no naptime constraints. We would paint, and create artwork. We would picnic at the park. We would enjoy our leisure time together.
Leisure Day #1 (Monday) - L-- was out sick
Leisure Day #2 (Tuesday) - L--, Lynne and Dave were out sick
Leisure Day #3 (Wednesday) - With the likely prospect of S-- falling ill, and a house still full of clearly contagious germs, we canceled our plans. This after we had canceled the driver. On a dreary day with two healthy, stir-crazy children we fell quarantined to our home
Leisure Day #4 (Thursday) - Playdate was canceled - the other little girl was sick. Excitement still rode high this day, as S-- had the joy of bringing her big sister along to music class. Ready to go right on time, our S-- had a proud moment of peeing all over her clothes as we stood on the threshold of our front door. After a shower and new clothes, shoes and coat, we made it to music class with only half of the time remaining.
Leisure Day #5 (Friday) - Playdate was canceled - this other little girl was sick, too. It seems that plenty of little bugs made their way around the bellies of Shanghai's children last week. We rescheduled with another friend (good news!) and ended up with a big crew of kids. Definitely fun, but not the intimate friendly gathering we all needed.
L-- has grown accustomed to time with friends, and mental stimulation throughout the day. By Friday, she was bored of us. S-- has grown accustomed to time with just Mommy, and mornings without the burden of sharing her toys. By Friday, she was grumpy and clingy. They bickered. They snatched. They pushed and kicked. My sweet little girls became nasty little things by the end of the week, and I was ready to pull my hair out.
I hold a firm rule in Shanghai. It is important that I talk to someone every day. In a world without neighbors, without family, and without long-term relationships, those simple interactions make all the difference. I found early on that a day without talking to someone would be a bad day. I barely managed to talk to anyone all week. Friday I lost my phone, and by the end of the day I was broken.
To make matters worse, Dave spent Friday evening out with co-workers. At the end of such a day, such a week, I was simply unable to comprehend his basic desire for companionship and a rest from the weariness of social responsibilities. We fought, and I went to bed more miserable than before.
Spirits have brightened considerably for all of us. A weekend with Daddy, followed by a sunny day back at school brought us closer to our normal selves. But tempers still flared this afternoon as exhaustion crept back in.
A week like this brings out my depressive side, questioning my skill as a mother at my inability to handle simple toddler temper tantrums. But each of our ability to rebound with a return to normalcy and the sun shining brightly brings back my faith in each individual in our family.
Unfortunately, the stress of the past week leaves me nervous about this summer. I have yet to find a friend staying for the summer who lives within a 30 minute drive of our home. If 1 week without friends drove each of us batty, I can only imagine 2 months. We may not all survive!
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