On day one of our beach vacation, I found myself having to break down the concept to our toddler, who was missing Tramin and was already craving the comfort of his routine. I told him we were taking a break from our usual lives. Papa and Mama needed time off from doing household chores like planning meals, groceries, washing dishes, making the beds, dropping him off at the day care, and picking him up. By this point, there was already a rhythmic lilt to my voice, an intentional intonation I like to rely on when I recite lists because I can see how it captures his interest and attention. It occurred to me that the concept of a vacation was strange indeed for a toddler, especially one growing up in a privileged landscape. He didn’t need a break from his mundane because he simply loves how his day is organised. He loves every aspect of it, even having to sleep at night, once he gets over his resistance, when he realises he gets to be with me and listen to stories and songs and ‘talk’.

I love our mundane, too, but the month of May was not without its challenges. Normally, my teaching hours at the University are spread over numerous Fridays. But since I wanted to wait at least six weeks after giving birth to teach, I had to compress the 18 hours over multiple Fridays and Saturdays. Since I use public transport, getting to and from the University with my newborn was a logistical struggle. From Monday to Thursday, I would be busy working my regular job, then, instead of time off, I would have to teach, so I had just Sunday to myself. In between all of this, I got assigned a date for the B2 level bilingual exam, so all my free time was spent trying to learn more Italian.

By now, I’ve made my peace with failing the exam. The point of applying to take it was to motivate myself to speak more Italian. On this trip to coastal Italy, I find I’m doing exactly that, so even though I may fail the test, the goal has been achieved. It’s the only thing I’m consciously doing on this holiday. Everything else is leisure. It’s not always relaxing with two kids, but it’s a welcome break from housework and regular work, a chance to be a mother and an explorer, not a mother and multitasker.