It is the third week in February – a week when many families across the country have what’s called a winter holiday – a week off from school! While many wonder why a break is needed when kids just returned six weeks ago following the December holiday season, some of us look forward to celebrating winter weather with our children (and/or with our loved ones) – either by getting away from it – or immersing ourselves in it! It’s a time for adventure and different kinds of lessons: traversing ice-covered paths like this one in Southwest Harbor, Maine – or skating across a nearby pond. The ice brings alive animated fantasies like Frozen – helping children (and adults) realize that ice castles are actually possible! It’s a chance to witness small wonders like a beautiful brook flowing in the midst of a frozen mountain.
Living on the East Coast, I have always celebrated the cold weather and especially the snow. Growing up in southern California, the seasons varied from moderate temperatures to hot.
So I am someone who wanted to immerse my family in the winter – rather than escape to warmer destinations as some. Regardless of where you spend your February break – at the beach with Grandma or in the snow-covered mountains – the time together is invaluable.
Family vacations can play a big part in children’s memories. An older friend told me once that though his kids didn’t seem to even enjoy the road trips they used to regularly take, …
It was a less grand ceremony in the basement of a local church in our town, but the handful of parents were no less proud or excited to see their child ready to take the next leap toward maturity, even if it was only to kindergarten.
When my younger daughter graduated from high school last year, the preschool “graduation” footage was used in a video for the senior class. To watch the 18-year-old faces …