I finally completed an intense design project and had a week of my winter break remaining to spend with my family. It was great to spend a lot of quality time with the kids. I enjoyed discussing how I use shapes at work to my older daughter's classmates, helping her and her friends lace-up ice skates for their class outing and later taking my oldest three kids sledding on a nearby hill for a couple of hours after school (and came home to warm, fragrant pumpkin pancakes for dinner). Today I took the oldest to my university's indoor ice rink to practice skating as part of a reward for improvement in school and home areas. We finished with hot chocolate in my studio/office on campus. Later I ended up "camping" with the boys in the basement while Mom was out with the girls.
I have been rediscovering the joy that comes when I lose myself in my family. It has been fun to break lettuce for salad and make pizza dough with my kids or to sit and read a children's book or three. A feeling of increased love comes into our home and we are better prepared to share this essence with others we meet.