Writing with Rox WEEKLY—Highlight of the Day Journal

Jude and I are having a fantastic spring break. I can't remember a spring break where I've had more fun. As far as childhood goes, all I can remember is a haze of spring breaks spent in Palm Springs, which was lovely, but so was Los Angeles. One student joked the other day that I never had to go away for spring break because I was already there! True that.

Of course those were wonderful times and deep memories of a "happy childhood" were made there: the desert was glorious, the bingo with Great Grandma Jean and her mountainside trailer beneath the lemon tree, scurrying up "my" mountain, the oasis that was the small oval pool with plastic yellow and white lounge chairs, miniature golf with Grandpa Norman, visiting the giant dinosaurs, marveling at Bob Hope's house, the Hollywood glamour of downtown before it got all touristy, the romantic nights I envisioned for myself there when I grew.

Truth is,  I wish Ma would have indulged a little spring break action with me when I was a kid. She was around, but I think she was too stressed out to get into it. She wasn't one for fun... kid fun anyway.

Inasmuch, until today, I never realized that spring break was actually a time for parents to take a break and have some fun with their kids. To take some days off, get down on the ground, eat the junk food, build the Lego towers, and have some kid fun.  Ooooooooooooooooooooooh. This likely explains why so many folks I know are out of town with their kids having fun somewhere fun.    Glad I caught on.

I won't go into all the fun, but it began Friday night with some rounds of silliness after too much chocolate cake making and eating, topped off at bedtime by the following joke that came out of one of Jude's scholastic books:
KNOCK KNOCK?
WHO'S THERE?
OSWALD
OSWALD WHO?
OSWALD MY CHEWING GUM

Okay, you don't have to tell me whether or not you think that's funny (but DO feel free to share your Knock-Knock jokes) because the point is that was the moment that unleashed it all and it's been mostly a party ever since.

One of the great things that has come out of this spring break week is that Jude and I have been doing our "Highlight of the Day" Journal together. His class was recently assigned this nighty homework and we have made it a ritual to do it together. What a gift. Just as in the spirit of things here at the Beach, we write together and then we read out loud to each other. And it's beautiful! Worlds collide! Sometimes we write about the same things, but a lot of times we get to hear new things, remember places or moments, relive a certain magic, go somewhere new...

Of course my highlight always has Jude in it. But that's my truth and that's writing it down. (I realize he may write a memoir someday. He may regret that his mom had too much fun for spring break and couldn't she act her own age, for crying out loud?) Either way, today we both wrote about how fun it was to have fancy donuts on Eat Street.


Spring Break story? (college spring break stories?!)
Highlight of the Day?

Moral of the story: Writing together is fun! Writing together is a great break! And if you need one—with your child, your honey, your fun-less (or too fun!) mother, your best friend—join me for DATE NIGHT WRITING ON THURSDAY MAY 1!