Working Mom Wednesday: Days Off

I have not had a full, five-day work week since the middle of December. There was Christmas, with some days off before and after it. There was our little excursion to Louisville. Then we had a snow day. And then, of course, this past Monday was MLK Day. While I feel a twinge of guilt at not really "observing" the reason for the day off in any formal way (other than by reading my hubby's blog post with audio of a King speech), I definitely enjoy the day off in the middle of January, when (ordinarily) one would be going through vacation withdrawal after the Christmas holidays.

Everybody enjoys a nice day off from work (beyond normal weekends, that is), and while weekends are great for errands, weekdays off are great for doing the fun things one just doesn't get to do ordinarily.  I honestly don't recall how I spent random days off before I was a mom--sleep in, shop, I don't know. I'm sure I enjoyed them, but it's kind of funny the rabid intentionality with which I approach days off work now. I daydream, make plans, and anticipate how I will use this "me" time. Not a moment must go to waste. Because I'm neurotic like that, even with my relaxation time.

Last year, I arranged a play date. I get so envious when I read the blogs of certain stay-at-home-moms and their fun-filled days of play dates and lunches with friends and their babies, etc. (Take that last sentence with a grain of salt because a) I love working and b) SAHMs, I know your days are very tough and not always fun-filled.) Anyway, I'd dreamed of the magical play date, so I kept Kate home from day care since I was home, and Nancy and Becca made the trek to Clarksville to play and visit. (Looking back at that post now, the girls looked so little!)

This year, when I learned that day care would once again be open when I was off work for the holiday, I decided to go ahead and take her in. First off, it was her first day in the two-year-old room, and I didn't want to disrupt the transition into that classroom. (The school does such a great job transitioning the kids when they move up, with progressively longer visits to the new room throughout the two weeks before the change.) Secondly, this scenario provided an opportunity for something else working moms--heck, parents in general--rarely get to experience... a babysitterless movie date!

It was a good day. Kate and I both slept in a little, so I took her to school around 8, then had some "me time" at Starbucks, enjoying a nonfat toffee nut latte and feta/egg/spinach breakfast wrap. I finished the novel I was reading, Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult. I am not a big fiction reader, but I devour Picoult's books. This one, especially, was riveting. Then, I dragged Matt along on a quest to Toys R Us and Target for the last of Kate's birthday presents. (I am always under the delusion that he will enjoy such excursions. I need to remember otherwise.) After much obsessing, I made my selection and we could move on to lunch (O'Charley's) and our movie. We saw Black Swan. It was good, but the R rating for "disturbing images" (among other things) was well-deserved. At points, it was almost like a horror movie, and I don't do horror movies. The dancer's descent into madness is compelling, and somewhat of an adrenaline rush. I like psychological thrillers, but one of my pet peeves is sudden things that jump out or make loud noises--especially if those things are creepily-morphing faces. Consider yourself warned.

So how do you spend your days off work?