In which spring moved from being something to endure to something to be enjoyed
By Ken Partridge
I have a love-hate relationship with March break.
When I was a youngling, I welcomed the break from the school routine. But it always meant the inevitable return to class and the stories from classmates about their break.
These stories almost always involved a trip. It might have been to a neighbouring province, or the one that has haunted my dreams ever since: Disney World. Boy, was I envious of those. I’ve said in the past I didn’t stay envious because there were other things to do, but if I’m honest, that one has stuck with me over the years.
My breaks didn’t include trips. Both parents worked and they didn’t get time off in March.
March breaks mainly consisted of playing in the house, watching any children’s programming CBC might have on, and trying to keep things down to a dull roar when mom got home. The exceptions were when the weather co-operated and we could actually go outside. Those were the best March breaks.
To this day I’ve never been to Disney World (or Land) and I still get a little pang in the heart every March.
Maybe that’s why I wanted to make sure things were different for my kids. I always scheduled a week of my vacation to coincide with March break, even if it meant giving up time in the summer. I would check out what was available to do and discuss it with the family.
There were trips to the library and exciting museum exhibits (animatronic dinosaurs stand out), trips to neighbouring provinces and even down into New England. There was always a movie day, and we always included at least one place we had never visited before.
So, March break has improved. To assist those of you already planning your break this March, we’ve combed through the offerings and selected our favourites.
In addition to March break, this issue also looks at how holistic medicine fits our kids’ health needs; and how we can identify which of our kids are real collectors and help them preserve and protect what makes them happy.
Enjoy!
