It’s Just Not Spring If You’re Not About to Break

Take a poll of Americans and you’ll find that most describe Spring as their favorite time of the year.  Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and the temperature is frequently tolerable if not downright heavenly.

          What is not to like?

          Enter our modern American invention—Spring Break.  In many ways, it lives up to the season for which it’s named.  Somehow though it also falls far short.

          I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found myself completely drained and utterly exhausted after Spring Break. If the purpose of said “break” is to give me a rest and allow me the opportunity to recharge my batteries, I hate to say it but usually the opposite happens.  That’s in large part because it’s just one week and unless you plant yourself in bed with a giant “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door for seven straight days, it is highly unlikely (ne’er I say impossible) to be rested after that one week off.

          A big factor in this result is the choices the majority of Americans make and what we feel compelled to do with the free week.

          We take a vacation.

          And when it’s over we actually need a vacation.

          Back when my kids were younger, we made going to Walt Disney World for Spring Break an annual event.  We felt it was an obligation both to the children and to the fact that in a very weak moment we purchased a Disney Vacation Club membership so what to do with all those vacation points unless you took multiple trips (and thus spent even more money) visiting Mickey Mouse?

          By nature, I’m not one to sit still for long so for our family a trip to WDW was literally an endurance test.  By the time it was over, we all would have felt equally rested (but not nearly as accomplished) if I’d suggested we run the Boston Marathon on holiday instead.

          Disney World at Spring Break is endless crowds, lots of blisters and multiple feasts featuring few vegetables or any semblance thereof.  It also cost LOTS of money which includes not only airfare, park tickets, and souvenirs but also the expense of the six-week post-trip visits to the chiropractor to cure the back pain caused by another ride on Space Mountain.

          That was our typical Spring Break.  We also did the beach week a few times. This is a particularly interesting choice because it really is a clash of generations and sometimes cultures.

          It’s okay when everyone pretty much stays in their lane but that never happens.  So, you have the frat boys losing all semblance of civil and polite behavior mixing with parents quietly building sandcastles seaside with toddlers. Influencers are snapping photos in the sand which for some reason frequently results in a loss of some if not all of a bikini top.  Older adults are “trying to read” which leads to major conflict when the beer guzzling group under the next umbrella decides that everyone on the beach is as big a fan of Zach Bryan and Chris Stapleton as they are and pumps their tunes at full volume for everyone to “enjoy.”

          If you’re lucky only a few members of the family return home from one of these trips with a third-degree sunburn.  Memories of the vacation stay with you for months every time you sink your foot into your running shoe and feel the sand that doesn’t seem to go away.

          I don’t even want to think about those poor souls who think you can work in a trip to Europe or the Far East for Spring Break, but it does happen.

          Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not advocating an end to an opportunity to rest, relax and spend quality time with the family.

I’m just suggesting that maybe we should all branch out a little and find activities that in the end don’t take years off our lives one way or the other.