We spent last week on Mt Washington. It was our first family vacation ever. We have done a few two day trips here and there, but never a real, week off school/work getaway.
It was magical. It was exhausting. Five days of skiing is an endurance test. A fun, fantastical test of muscle and your bodies ability to stay warm.
The best part is all the time spent on chairlifts. Half the day is spent sitting side by side, chatting, laughing and bonding. I spent more time talking with each of my kids than i have in ages and they, in turn, talked with each other. Being on a lift behind tristan and toby i watched them chat and giggle and be silly together. There was no fighting, just being together, being family.
It was amazing. I am so thankful to my employers for making it possible for us to go on that adventure.
This really has been the summer that wasn’t. We have had two sunny days, the rest have been overcast, rainy, windy or grey. It’s been tough on everyone. The kids have been troopers though and have still made almost daily trips to the lake and other adventures. Let me fill you in:
There have been birthday parties and five pound gummy bears.
Many days spent on the dock leaping in our frigid lake.
I think my kids are pretty lucky to live where we do. The small town holds the safety and magic that i enjoyed as a child. They can wander the village, they can run bathing suit clad, barefoot with a towel flying behind them to the lake. They can swing in for dinner and rush back out to ride bikes and get up to all the hijinks that kids do. It is a freedom they take for granted and don’t really understand the magic of.
Which is perfect.
Shane and i have been back together for a year now and i suppose it has been “official” since we combined two homes into one back in january. Those first six months were tough: up, down and all around. In the past six months we have come to a place that is mostly happy, healthy, loving and fun. I won’t say it’s been easy, but it has been right. In many ways being single parents and single people for three years changed who we are in a relationship, made us better at it.
I have also switched jobs and what i do to make my contribution to the household. I was unemployed for four days. I sent out three emails and got three job offers. That felt really, really good. I have ended up working at a Cider Apple Orchard where they make cider and brandy. There is a bistro, a brick oven bakery, a tasting bar and a deli. I am managing all of those. On the farm they grow 13 acres of cider apples and bring in the rest from outside and produce seven different ciders, two Oh De Vie’s and a Sparkling Vodka. The food that is produced in the Bistro is all local and organic where possible. It suits me very well. I love being on this beautiful farm serving food and drink that i really believe in.
I am working more days than nights and enjoying working more “normal” hours. More time with family and a better job.
