August 24, 2011

7 Years is Too Long

I am home from Lake Tahoe and can’t stop thinking about all the great parts of our trip and just have to pour my heart out about them!

First there’s the not so little fact that this trip would not have been possible without the generosity of my mother and step-father who flew the kids and I down, provided room and board and threw a little party in our honor. I know they’re getting something out of it too, but still. I mean, they don’t do things half-assed. I just kept saying "thank you" and "thanks" to everything and I hope they know how grateful I am. Here, I’ll say it again: Mom and Doug, I love that you did this for us. Thank you so much!

Then there is my BFF and her hubby. J.Ho and Joe live in Chico, CA, a mere 3 ½ hours from Tahoe, so they seized the opportunity to see us and came up for the weekend. There’s never been anything half-assed about them either. They rented a cabin, hung out with my kids and had the 3 of us over for dinner, a sleepover and breakfast. Not to mention some time at the beach before they had to leave on Sunday. Their generosity and attention to detail awed me. J.Ho, I love you and your family very much and I thank you for all you did in order to see us!

The attention to detail part?

My J.Ho brought some flipflop wine with her!

Also?

My step-dad totally went out of his way to take my and J.Ho’s kids on a fire station tour (he’s a retired firefighter).

I am so very touched by all of this, and more. Seeing members of my mom’s family was LONG overdue. I loved getting to hang out with my Grama, aunt and cousin. I only wish I could’ve seen everyone.

I felt so proud watching Cami riding my mom’s horse all by herself. Not to mention how much AJ also liked riding the horses. My mom loves her horses more than just as much as she loves her family, so I know it makes her happy to be able to share something that means so much to her with her grandkids (because the horse thing seems to have skipped a generation). And I love watching my step-dad with my kids because he is someone who never had any kids of his own, yet he is really great with them.

Something that might seem inconsequential to most, but isn’t to me, is having a glass of wine with my mom while we watch All My Children together. Actually pretty neat that we squeezed that particular bonding time in considering the show is ending next month. My mom and I are very different, but we’ve both loved that show for years!

And then I felt so refreshed satisfied grounded by being at near IN Lake Tahoe. Now that I’m home, it feels like it was sort of a reboot. It was kind of perfect to go there right before we get ready to head into a new school year and all that entails.

There are also a couple of “side effects”, if you will, from the trip.

While I had a great time, I really did miss Mark. I missed sharing it with him and having fun with him. He absolutely deserves a vacation too (although he can never take a vacation from dialysis). I fully felt like it was just me and my kids on our own and it honestly made me think, as I was floating in a raft on the Lake, “Is this what it will feel like when Mark’s gone?” And then, since he’s my very best friend, the one person I can say just about anything to, “What will I do without him?”

(No, he’s not at death’s door, but he sometimes likes to practice which makes me think about these things.)

On a brighter note, I have come home with a desire to be a bit more outdoorsy. We spent more time outside than we did in and it reminded me of how nice walking in the woods or going to the beach, or even just sitting outside on the porch, can be.


Let's BEE Friends

11 comments:

  1. aww! i got all excited, since lake tahoe is within driving distance of me too- and then i saw the flying part. oh well. i'm glad you had a good trip- it's gorgeous there. where we got married, 11 years and 4 days ago!

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  2. Sounds heavenly. You really have me freaking out about Mark. I pray that you two enjoy many many MANY happy healthy years together.

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  3. Reading about your trip to Lake Tahoe really warmed my heart. I guess it's because between me and my mom, we never really spent much time together at all, even when I was young (she had to travel a LOT for her work). So reading about you and your mom, bonding over a glass of wine, watching All My Children, made me smile :)

    Sounds like your step-father is a great guy too! Seems like he cared a lot about you and your kids... that's like one in a million!

    And is there a place more perfect than Lake Tahoe especially when it comes to spending time with your family? It's one of the most idyllic place!

    Sincerely happy to hear that you had a great time there. Welcome back, and here's hoping you get back to life as usual in no time :)

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  4. jumping in from PYHO ...

    I love this post! and Lake Tahoe is such a beautiful place. we were there this past winter with the kids and it was magical :)

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  5. How relaxing! It sounds like you have a wonderful family and great friends! :) Hopping over from the Totally Tuesday Blog Hop! I'd love it if you would stop by my blog to say hi! :) Have a great day!

    Mandi at boredombustingmommy.blogspot.com

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  6. It is great that you were able to relax - even if Mark wasn't able to be there with you all. I'm sure it meant a lot to him that you all got to go!

    WM

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  7. Sounds like it was a fabulous trip!

    Sorry that you missed Mark- though sometimes when I have a chance to miss my husband for a little bit, things are even sweeter when we are together again. :)

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  8. It sounds like a relaxing trip; glad you enjoyed!

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  9. Reconnecting with nature always gives us a boost, too! Especially the water-we love the coast (any of them).

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  10. So glad you had such a great trip! Sounds fabulous and so relaxing!

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  11. I love Lake Tahoe. Love it. I am so glad that you got a chance to go and visit with family and friends and relax. Bummer that Mark couldn't come with you . . . I hope you took lots and lots of photos to share with him.

    The part of your post that struck me most was your desire to reconnect with nature a bit more.

    One of the best things about our life here in Portland is the world outside our door. The trees and the green and the moss and the water and the ferns . . . the animals . . . the nature. I feel close to the earth and close to myself here in a way I never did when I lived in California. California is beautiful, but it wasn't me.

    Although Lake Tahoe?

    I loved it there.

    Happy sighs.

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