Portland parents who are lucky or especially good at budgeting may be getting close to paying off the credit-card bills racked up over the holiday season, around now. The approach and arrival of Valentine’s Day signals a chance to lean back, take a breath, and enjoy a non-chaotic evening for just the two of you. But when Cupid has sharpened and fired his heart-shaped arrowheads, it also serves as a reminder of something else: for Portland Public Schools, the week of February 19 to 23 is winter break, and the kids will be home.

Ah, the memories of past weeks of the children’s vacations. The frying pans mysteriously burned unusable when you return home to the babysitter. A harrowing trip up to Kingfield, only to hear the littler voice say, “I left my ski boots home.” The paid-leave time at home that made it seem likely that a certain son and daughter could get a gig on reality TV with the uniquely absurd things they argue about (“I was being Aslan, and he said my mane had fleas!”). Yes, February vacation, the place where anything can happen, and often does.