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You are here: Home / autism / PA Day

PA Day

January 31, 2014 By Tara Leave a Comment

The kids are all home from school today.  In years past I will admit that I dreaded PA Days.  The kids would alternate between destroying the house, singing the I’m Bored chant at an alarming decibel, and begging to go out (never to the same place either, and taking Maggie out on the town is stressful).  Sometimes they did all these things simultaneously.  And why are these days always adjacent to a weekend?  I could manage (just barely) to soldier through a 2 day weekend, or maybe a 3-day if there were a celebration (celebrations have wine) involved as a distraction.  But 3 whole days in a row?  No.

When I looked at the school calendar this year and saw that they had attached many of the PA Days to weekends that already included a holiday…or worse…when they slipped one in the day before Christmas holidays…I panicked.  This was going to be bad.  Nerdguy and I usually have to play zone defense keeping Maggie out of trouble, and refereeing the other girls’ fights, or doing something fun with them individually.  Or cleaning up the puddle of juice on the floor while the other parent keeps the kids from rolling in it.  How was I going to do this by myself while also prepping for whatever holiday celebration was also that weekend?
Easy.  I host nothing anymore.  Problem solved.
Also, I am discovering how much I truly enjoy our days with nothing planned now.  We used to do most of our activities on weeknights, but this year we have over-scheduled our weekends a tad and they are busy.  We are all so grateful for a day off that we are all happy and getting along and staying out of mischief.  Sort of.  Maggie will always be a cupboard rummager.  But when it’s one day in the week I don’t mind letting her steal 3 yogurt tubes in a row from the fridge.
Now I will be honest and admit that all 3 kids are currently on different tablets spread throughout the house.  But I’m okay with that too.  We’re not homeschooling here.  We’re taking a day off.  And the fact that I now volunteer at the school every Friday morning definitely makes a PA Day more appealing.  Instead of making snacks for an entire school, I am still in my pajamas having a leisurely second cup of coffee.  And the lunches.  Oh Lord the lunches.  I didn’t have to make lunches!  No fights to get out the door on time.  No battles in the drop-off lane.  In fact I’m not even sure anymore what there wasn’t to like about PA Days.
How do you feel about PA Days?  Like them or hate them?

Filed Under: autism, holiday, messes, parenting, school

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