My children's school had this Monday and Tuesday off for President's Day.  We typically head to northern Michigan for a ski vacation.  This year, like many others, we had friends stay with us.  It was a terrific long weekend !  All the kids had friends to ski with, the weather was perfect and aside from the dog nearly drowning (next post) everything was copacetic. 

Until the work week for mom began.  Monday was pretty quite.  I didn't have any seminars or meetings scheduled so I was able to monitor student progress and return emails from my I Pad.  Tuesday was not pretty quiet.  I had a seminar to teach, a faculty meeting conference call to attend and several students with big issues that needed sorting by me. Our friends were packing up, my daughter was vacuuming, I was cleaning the refrigerator and the dog was barking incessantly at a bunch of deer in the front yard.  I couldn't find my headset, which made the multitasking I might have done successfully extremely difficult. And that department meeting I was trying to participate in from my cell phone, while driving ? Why, when I told my husband it would be at least an hour, did he call my cell phone twice when I was on it ?  As much as I appreciate him wondering what kind of sandwich I might want......could he have called one of the kids who wasn't on a conference call ? 

It got a little hectic as we tried to head out of town, but we managed. I finished my call, and contributed in a meaningful way AND, thanks to my husband the kids and I had delicious sandwiches from our favorite sandwich shop to eat on the way back home.

These kinds of days should make me grateful that I have the flexibility to vacation with my family and take my work with me.  Sometimes they make me want to vacation with my family and not take my work with me.

How do you juggle your schedule and your childrens' school vacations ?