Peace At Last

I hope my wife will forgive me, but although I had to come home from Christmas break without her and the kids because of work, I was looking forward to a vacation from our vacation. Traveling with the kids for the holidays is exhausting. "Peace at last," I thought. Only, I don't know what to do with so much peace. The house is empty. My evenings are empty. I'm not sure what to do with myself without wrestling with my son, snuggling with my daughters, and laughing with my wife. (I know I'm forgetting the part where the kids splash us during baths, scream during bedtime, and continue getting out of bed for various reasons, not to mention dinner table drama and clean-up.) I know I'll get some needed extra work done, and I don't want to be the new attorney who vacations longer than more senior attorneys. On the other hand, it is hard for me to think of anything other than my family. My baby girl's first hair cut, the tenderness with which my son and oldest girl played Mary and Joseph in the nativity, reading to the kids at night, spending the nights talking with my wife. I've actually creeped into the kids' rooms a few times just to feel like they are closer. I'm not sure I like this much peace.