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.
Practical jokes abound.
And plenty of mini adventures on my days off.
Hope you are well also. xo
In the evening we went to one of our favourite parks. We were on the swings, four in a row. I lost myself in the back and forth, the wind, the trees shading the sky above me. I leaned back, feet straight ahead and closed my eyes. I remembered being young. For a moment i was there again. In the escape, in the flying.
I miss laughing. Deep belly laughs. They don’t come often enough when you are grown.
Instead i settle for long moments of contentment. As i get older i do become more settled, more comfortable just being. Watching my children grow in such profound ways. Just letting them be. Understanding that the greatest strength and power comes in those moments, days of boredom.
They disappear for days on end now. Sleepover marathons. I try not to miss them. To let them unfold into their own worlds. Futures that hold uncertainty and promise and breathless abandon.
In the quiet of the evening i scratched my mosquito bites until little rivers of blood ran down my leg. Seeing the bruised and scabby knuckly knees of childhood.
Walking through a forest of sunflowers. Characters in our own movie. The interminable joy.
I just returned from my now annual trip to The Gorge in Washington for the Sasquatch Music Festival.
My super fabulous friend and i have had a very busy year and have been counting down the days to this trip since january. There was no disappointment.
We laughed so hard we cried. She danced around me while i hobbled around on crutches. We sat quietly reading throughout the mornings. We saw some truly amazing music. We talked about the future, our children, our husbands, our dreams and our hopes.
We didn’t shower for five days.
We had that kind of time where you are so comfortable with the other person that you can just let every worry, every bill not paid, every parental mistake – all of it – let it all go, knowing full well it will still be there upon our return.
And relax. Just breathe, listen, enjoy and laugh.
We have been a little busy having fun. My new house is the perfect summer house. We are less than two blocks from the government dock/beach at the lake. We waddled our way through the (too short) heatwave last week by blazing a path from my front door straight down to the water.
We are perfectly freckled and water logged.
The kids can all swim now so afternoons which turn into evenings at the lake are much easier to get through because i don't have to be standing at the edge of the water keeping a constant eye.
I think my kids are pretty darn lucky to be living this life we are. They have freedoms that so many kids don't. When i'm at work one or more of them come visit pretty much every night. Picking up a scrap or two from the chefs or just hanging out with me.
My house has become a central meeting place for many of the kids on the block. It is a constant in and out of grubby hands and dirty feet.
This house feels like the place where great memories are made.
