Beat ‘em with just a little introspection and unusual experiences.

Missing the Summer holidays like I am? Wishing for those chill-out evenings with no school-gloom hanging over your head? Waiting for your toes to touch the beach again? Yeah, me too.

As I examine the holidays that just went by, they were chaotic, noisy, too long, and I really wanted them to end. Mr. Dad and I (and possibly, the maid), longed for the quiet mornings that school life afforded. Sure there was frenzied activity till everyone got to wherever they were supposed to be, but then, there was a peaceful sigh, the first lull of the morning. A quiet breakfast, uninterrupted thought…ah! Since I work from home, I yearned for the silence that allowed me to write with clear thought. Holidays suck!

And now that I have it all, two months later, I want that greener grass. Not really the late bed-time and noisy-screams-and-fighting, but just the thrill of no routine. Then, what do I really miss about the holidays? The spontaneity, for sure. We could do a few unplanned things on the spur of the moment – plan a play date, have friends over, jet out to coffee with kids. We could do out-of-town trips where there was no agenda except to relax, eat out, enjoy a new environment and allow ourselves to get caught up in the moment and marvel at the newness of everything, like children.

All of this certainly helps Mum chill out, get giggly and allow the children to see her for the nut that she really can be; but just a few times each year. In my case, Mr. Dad too, gets to breathe-easy knowing that she is. So, everyone’s happy. Hmm.

That lists spontaneity, relaxation, no homework or home-ish responsibilities, plenty of new things to see, places to go, AND a less-tense mum, whose happy feeling infects everyone. How can I translate this revelation? I decide to be spontaneous and take small trips to places I haven’t seen before. That’s the quickest and simplest thing.

I do a first, simple, weekend trial – pick one child and ask what she would like to do this Saturday morning. She says she’d like a bus ride; not really my idea of a ‘mini holiday’ but I don’t want to diss the thrill in her gleaming eyes. I make a few calls and we head to a nice bus stop where we wait for our green Volvo. It’s drizzling and our bus is a no-show, but I look back at her, and she’s swinging her legs away, singing on the bench. It’s a beautiful sight and I decide to wait a bit longer.

The bus arrives and we take a 15-minute ride to Brigade Road; somehow the bus glides across town so effortlessly through the same traffic that hammers me down each day. We buy a load of donuts and catch the next bus back home. I try not to think of my whopper of a bill, and the fact that there’s enough sugar in the carton to maim my children. That aside, doing something new has refreshed my morning, thrilled my child to pieces and made us smile at each other more than we’ve done all week. It’s taken only an hour of my time, and I know the memory will last her a few years, at least.

Must do again. This is a super way to inject a little holiday-feel, year-round. It will be my son’s turn next. Oh please let him not want to go to the Royal Enfield showroom… walking, in the rain.

This column was first published in the Bangalore Mirror in June 2015