A long post from and about our vacation

I didn't have good internet where I was so I used Microsoft Word to write up what I would say and saved it for now. Here are my thoughts from vacation :)

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Vacation Officially Started:

Here I sit up in the beautiful state of Vermont, it’s about 6am on Sunday morning. We spent most of yesterday doing the usual family stuff….arguing and fighting, enjoying some sights (took Orion to see the Quechee Gorge), ate some pure Vermont maple candy (YUM) fought some more and we arrived at our destination. We settled in, went out looking for a super market, fought some more cause the kid wanted to make sure we got back in  time for the pools, found some Vermont maple soda (over and ounce of pure Vermont maple syrup mixed with carbonated spring water) came back and found a pool with a water slide, managed to get Orion to come with me on it and he had so much fun he begged Dad to go again

Currently the two boys are still sound asleep and I’m sitting out here on the deck. Sadly I can’t figure out how to post a photo into this from the laptop camera lol It’s probably about 65 degrees, and I’m watching the sun rise up across the mountains in front of me!   The air is so sweet, it’s doing wonderful things to my hair and I couldn’t feel more at home. I truly have missed this beautiful state! It feels so good to be back here, even though I am quite a bit north of where I grew up. We drove up the highway past the exit of my old hometown, and I had such a desire to go there, but hubby just kept on driving and said “buh-bye” as in good riddance! He hates anything to do with my past and would love nothing more than for me to forget it all and live happily ever after thinking my life started the day I met him. He’s a great guy, but he does not get the draw, he doesn’t understand the need to be there, to see it, to be able to be there and know that I have truly escaped. I know I have escaped, but I have never gone there knowing I could safely walk away, knowing without a shadow of a doubt I would never be locked in those memories ever again. I feel that to truly heal I will need to do that someday, just like Sissy did. For now I will just enjoy the peace and quiet that is right here, I will enjoy the fact that no one is fighting, no one is arguing about what we should do first, enjoying not having to be the referee between the grown up boy and the boy who is growing up. AHHHHH it’s great being a mom LOL

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Vacation Day 3

The last couple of days have passed in a blur of fun, sun and laughter with a little of that good ‘ole family fighting mixed in. Orion went without meds yesterday, although he did great when we kept him busy with pools, rock searching in the brook,  and the fun center, whenever there was down time…like lunch for instance, he wasn’t so great. He’s a challenge, but we made it through and hubby finally saw what I see on a daily basis and he realized why I am so exhausted by the end of the day. He also realized why mom said the boy was to be medicated every single day of vacation lol It’s really nice to hear “You’re right mom, I should’ve listened to you” especially when it’s coming from the hubby lol

4th of July ended with a huge bang as I sat listening to the Vermont Army band talking about the boys who are overseas fighting right now. They told of a 23 year old man who was just killed on Friday (who was  from the area)  and  left behind a wife and a new baby girl. They played songs dedicated to those who are over there fighting right now…..my nephew is among them…and I cried. My son, luckily, did not completely grasp the reason for my tears until afterward when I explained how I had already lost family to this war and when they started talking about that 23 year old man it really hit me. My nephew was born 09/19/1986, he will be 24 this year! I was there the day he was born, held him before anyone (other than the doctor who helped him out) and I helped my sissy a lot when he was a baby because his father was in the army and he was in training and could not get home for the birth of his son. My nephew, was very much my first baby, the child that convinced me that I wanted one of those of my own in the (then ) distant future. It is with him that I learned about difficult boys, where I learned to change diapers, learned how to calm a crying baby. It was through him that I learned to be a good caring mother by watching sissy with him and caring for him when she was asleep or out. She was only 18 at the time, still a baby herself, but through the two of them I learned so much. And so I sat here on the deck of our unit, listening to the story of the 23 year old from Vermont, worrying about my own special 23 year old from Vermont, hoping he comes home safe and sound and not like that other 23 year old man. I cried like a baby and my son just looked on, hugged me and kissed m on the cheek (something I haven’t gotten in a very long time ) and simply told me it was ok. My hubby hugged me and I bawled even worse because his touch does that to me, his strength lets me release and his power allows me to feel safe and secure. We watched the fireworks come up over the mountain and it was a wonderful 20 minutes, a great way to end my day. May whatever all powerful god or goddess or whatever is out there controlling the universe watch over my boy and bring him home.


Today we plan to go over to Stowe and ride the Gondola to the top of the mountain and hike to the top of Mt. Mansfield. Today will be a good day. But first I will sit, relax and enjoy my cup of coffee as I watch the sun rise up over the mountains once again and enjoy the beauty that I may not see again for awhile. I will leave today with this…..Last night hubby says to me…”Let me tell ya honey, looking around here you can tell that you’re home and that we are among your people.” I laughed thinking he was talking about how simple and carefree everyone is, how nice they are and everyone has a smile but I was wrong. He goes on to tell me that we all look alike and he’s beginning to wonder if they are all my cousins LMAO I couldn’t help but think…with an egg donor like mine, anything is possible!


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Vacation Day 3, part 2

I’m sitting here in the bed relaxing after one very long day! It started out well enough, peaceful and quiet, but soon after it became a lot less like fun. See we decided to go up to Mt. Mansfield to go hiking. We drove through the notch, stopped at the smuggler’s cave to take some pictures, then onward to the Stowe gondola to go up the mountain.  We arrived at the gondola about 1/2 hour before it opened so we opted to drive to a convenience store to grab some snacks. As we’re riding back to the gondola I’m eating my maple beef jerky when I feel something in my mouth that feels like a small rock, at first I thought the beef jerky had a stone in it but quickly realized it was a piece of a tooth :( One of my molars broke, it sucked but what could I do? At first it didn’t hurt so we went up the gondola, climbed up as high as we could go realizing that the path to the top from the gondola was way too difficult for Orion, there were gaps in the rock that his short legs just could not cross. So we sat about 600 feet from the top and still had a wonderful view. As we came back down my tooth started to really hurt and by the time we got to the gondola to ride back down I was in quite a bit of pain. Lucky for me I packed lots of motrin so I can take 800 mg every 4 hours. I’m managing but it’s rather painful and not fun. Of course Orion is having so much fun I am putting on my brave face and making sure he doesn’t see just how much pain I am in. Last thing I want to do is cut the vacation short since he’s truly enjoying his time here. We will head home on Wednesday as planned and when we get back I will get off to a dentist to have this tooth taken care of.
Mean while Orion has had tons of fun in the pools, he’s totally enjoying the waterslides and the scenery. He’s even gone down some of the waterslides backwards which is rather impressive! I look forward to watching him play more tomorrow


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Vacation day 4

Today we woke up a lot later than previous days due to the fact that we are all tired from our hike yesterday. But that didn't stop us from going back to Mt. Mansfield, taking the toll road up in the car and hiking the much easier 1 1/2 mile hike to the very top. I was determined to have my son stand on the top of Vermont so I took the bottle of motrin in the backpack and we took him to the top.  After coming back down we all had ice cream ( a painful feat for me with this tooth)since  it was always a tradition when I was younger that anyone who got to the top got ice cream at the bottom and I wasn't breaking that tradition.  After ice cream and dinner we took Orion back to the pools where he perfected the art of diving for stones and money.


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Final day...back home


As we left Vermont we stopped at the Moss Glen River Falls to look at some of the most beautiful falls I have ever seen. We took off our shoes and walked in the water up to the falls and took some great photos. I found some wild rasberry bushes and picked some ripe berries for Orion to enjoy. We left Vermont feeling that we very much want to go back every year....something I will NOT complain about in the least! I'll miss the beauty and fresh air, I'll miss my home state but I will return. 


My tooth is really bothering me now and I will go see the dentist in the morning to see what needs to be done about it.  Photos will follow soon, once I have them all organized :)

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