Recess

Have you ever asked a child what their favorite subject in school is? If so, did you ever get an answer that didn't include recess? I haven't. It doesn't matter what kind of child it is. Introvert, extravert, brainy, athletic, artistic and every other kind of child out there will list their preferences which vary greatly except in one aspect. Recess. They may all like to play different things. For some it's boy chase girl. For other's sports. And still for others it's swinging, sandbox, jungle gym, tag, going to the library or staying inside and helping teacher. Everyone has different ideas of fun but the love of recess in general is something that is universally agreed upon by school children everywhere. And just because a person graduates from elementary school doesn't mean that this love comes to an end. I haven't been in elementary school for a good 25 years but recess is still my favorite subject. My ideas of what's fun to do during recess have changed but my love for it has not. My recesses are not as frequent as they once were but every time I see an opportunity to go out to recess, I pounce on it. Usually I go out to recess with my family, but sometimes I still get the opportunity to play with my childhood friends at recess.


In this case It's more accurate to say "friends of my youth" than "childhood" friends. And even though they don't really have recesses in high school some of us took the liberty of creating our own together during Algebra or P.E.. I had so much fun going out to "recess" again with these guys over Christmas break. In the top picture is Amy and me at the beach. (Please do not compare smiles or you will think that I am frowning.) I had not seen her since the cruise that we went on together in 2004. It was great hanging out with her and Brian and being reminded of why John and I like them so much.
The bottom picture is of us at Jennifer's house. Jennifer and Shane are as up to par as Brian and Amy on their hosting prowess. Besides the great lunch Jennifer made, one of the highlights of the visit was becoming acquainted with her many dogs and chickens. Since my kids are all animal lovers they automatically felt right at home and it was fun watching them get acquainted with the (many) other kids that were there.

Another highlight of our Christmas "recess" was going to Disneyland. My kids are still in the stage where they want me to come to their school and go to recess with them. I have no doubt that they will eventually outgrow this but if I am lucky, after they're done with school and married they will start asking me to go to "recess" with them again. I know I was thrilled to have MY parents come along with us to Disneyland. I had never been there during Christmas or taken part in the whole business of using Fast Passes. Not having to wait in lines and seeing how they had decorated it for Christmas made it my favorite trip to Disneyland EVER!

One of my favorite memories of the day was running into the D's who live about a mile from us. We had no idea that they were planning a trip to Disneyland so that was a fun surprise. The park was filled to capacity and yet we still managed to cross paths and have dinner together.

The recesses that I take as an adult are quite a bit longer than the ones I had as a kid. (Not to mention way more expensive.) I guess that makes up for the infrequency of them. I can't wait to take my next one. If you read the entry: RV 101 you know that we're in for an adventure. We're using the free rental that we won and heading down to Sand Dunes National Park. Even though everything in my gut is telling me not to go anywhere near another RV, I ask you, how can I pass up an opportunity to go out to recess for FREE?!?!?