Our Trip To Gettysburg

(A continuation of Last Blast)...

The Saturday morning sun watched us drive through some quaint country towns in upper Maryland and lower Pennsylvania.  The kind where everyone knows everyone, and on this community yard sale day, everyone owns something that once belonged to everyone else.  We counted the deer that stood by the side of the road, poised to jump into the traffic... (four).  I began to wonder if any other vegetable actually existed, because all anyone ever grows is corn!

We stopped in at some of the local tourist shops, and walked away with the typical souvenirs; a t-shirt, a shot glass, some toys soldiers, and a key chain.  We armed ourselves with refreshments and a map of the area, and headed out for an adventure.

I was fully prepared to do some ghost hunting, with my digital camera, and voice recorder.  However, I ended up just so awed by the beauty of the landscape, imagining the plight of the soldiers, on both sides, and listening as Daddy recounted the events of those three horrendous days of battle.  Besides, there were such crowds everywhere we went, that I didn't want to start talking to ghosts, and have people think I was some sort of a loon.  The girls and I did find a moment of solitude in the garden of unknown soldiers, where we conducted a brief EVP session, and said a prayer for the men "known only to God".

Punkin's Ironic T-Shirt

Between the six of us, we climbed every last boulder that jutted out of the earth, trying to imagine the Union soldiers hiding among the rocks at Little Round Top,  firing at the Rebels across the valley, who hid among the rocks at Devil's Den.  And vice-versa. Those rocks hold the memories of the history they've seen, and I needed to soak it all up before I prayed for them to forgive the horrors of man.

Princess Hiding From The Sun

When Daddy finally made it to the top of a very steep hill on Seminary Ridge, he huffed and puffed and announced "Whew, I made it!"... I replied "Okay, now go fight a battle.".  It puts things into perspective, doesn't it?  Another thing that helped us gain a little perspective was the sighting of a few throwbacks to the day, who kindly paused in mid-conversation with another visitor, to pose for my camera.  From our viewpoint on the hilltop, we could see a tour group, using modern Segways to navagate the paths below.  One of the soldiers quipped "Here come the Confederate Segways... It's the only way they can take the hill".  LOL.  At that point we began referring to everything as Confederate... like the Confederate McDonald's where we later stopped for a Rebel milkshake.

All in all, it was a most wonderful day.  A good hike on a clear and sunny day, a few tears shed over some history remembered, and a lot of laughs during some family bonding.  I walked away with an appreciation, in that the three most important men in my life have not had to experience such an ordeal... and a compassion for those who have.

Our Last Blast of Summer '11

Within the span of seven days, the kids have gone back to school, we've had an earthquake, and a hurricane.  I have lots to tell you about all of that, but I'd much rather take a few moments to re-live our last blast of the summer.

Keeping with tradition, we took our annual long weekend excursion to Baltimore, to visit with my family. It's a cookie cutter vacation, meaning it's typically the same every year, but believe me, we have no complaints what so ever. Mom's place is as clean and organized as the best hotel, and even comes complete with mini shampoos and extra toothbrushes. If I didn't know her better, I'd be wondering where she hides the staff. Here are ten the highlights:

1) We left straight from Hubsy's workplace, and took the six hour drive by night.  That way, when Hubsy opened his eyes on the very first day of his vacation, he would actually be on vacation.  It was well worth it.

2) This time, we added an extra little day trip to the itinerary:  a tour of the infamous Gettysburg Civil War battlefield, led by my father, the amateur historian, and Confederate at heart.  (This experience will be the focus of my next posting).

3) Mom's pool is a great place to catch up on some parent/child bonding, but I repeated the word "Polo" so often, that I got a little goofy with it.  "Marco" was henceforth followed by Aspen, Obsession, Brut, or English Leather.  The whole thing ended up being nothing more than a Freudian game of word association.  Peanut butter led to jelly, which led to grape... nuts... vasectomy.

4) A hostile takeover of the local Olive Garden, by twelve members of the paternal clan.  Daddy and Second Mom, Little Bro and his two little impkins, Little Sis and her new hubs, plus my fam of five.  A bottle of wine made it's rounds, and I had my annual vacation margarita.  Daddy teased the waitress as often as possible.  My favorite quip went something like "I don't like this wine, and I'm going to send it back, right after you pour it and I drink it, and you pour it again."  

5) After dinner, the troupe headed over to Little Bro's place, where we enjoyed the hilarity of the toddler's musings.  For instance, being invited into her princess castle, to be hit with  the soft spoken announcement of "I got poops".  We giggled for hours about how the usual offering that accompanies an invitation, would be coffee or wine.

6) One of the best parts are the night swims, when the air is chilled and the water is warm. Turning on the pool lights, and turning up the music makes it feel like a real party!

7) Catching up on the family gossip.  I never get involved in the dramas, but I do like to hear about them.  It's nice to be reminded of where I come from, and why I choose to live two states away!

8) Bailing a hundred gallons of water out of the pool, with every bucket and can we could find, to lower the level enough for Mom to re-glue some loose tiles on a near dry surface.  For two days, we obsessed about those tiles.  It was such an event, that as we left Baltimore, I called from the car to tease her about some possible loose tiles in the Harbor Tunnel!

9) The annual crab feast!  It's the only time I ever get to express the Chesapeake gal in me.  The kids love to eat 'em, but I always have to guide them through the process.  Hubsy thinks it's just disgusting, but enjoys watching me chew on shells, slurp on that spicy seasoned juice, and dig out the yummy innards of an ocean floor scavenger.

10) Playing with Bob the Owl.  He's the yard guard, keeping birds from gathering around the pool, and rodents from nesting in the shed.  I decided that Bob needed a vacation too, and so I invited him to join us in whatever we were doing at the time.

The time is short, but it's just enough to recharge and refresh our outlook, and after being surrounded with Mom's near perfect decor, I actually return home a little excited about cleaning my house.

Bob's Got The Right Idea!

Ten Reasons Why I Can't Wait For School To Start

At the start of the Spring season, when Summer weather begins to make it's approach here in the south, I find myself longing for those days when the kids are out of school.  I look so forward to those precious extra hours of sleep in the mornings.  I look forward to the ease of appointment scheduling, without the signing in and out, and worrying about who's missing which classes.  Bedtime battles will ease up, as the kids get to stay up later and later, quietly entertaining themselves in their bedroom, with personal gaming devices, until they drift off to sleep.  Etc, etc, and all those other sweet dreams that a stay at home mom fantasizes about.  Now, here it is, the end of the season, and my rose colored glasses broke weeks ago.  So here is the list of ten reasons why my ears are straining to hear the melodic chimes of the scheduled school bell:

1)  I expected to have more hands to help with the daily chores, but instead I just have more chores!

2)  Wet clothes ... they're in the bathtub, they're in the hamper, they're on the bathroom floor, on the bedroom floor, and hanging off the back porch railing.  They're produced by the neighbor's wading pool, the other neighbor's sprinkler, water balloons, water guns, and my own hose.  Like dirty dishes do, wet clothes tend to multiply, as a clean and dry outfit only stays clean and dry until the next water balloon is launched.

3)  The critters.  "Mom, look at the ____ I caught!" ... fill in the blank with any of the following choices:  caterpillar, butterfly, moth, beetle, frog, toad, or snake.  Luckily the snakes are not so much caught, as they are found... already dead at the hand (or wheel) of a vehicle, or a local cat.  Also luckily, they are most often of the common, non venomous variety.

4)  My front porch and surrounding shrubbery have morphed into the neighborhood landfill.  We have collected an assortment of craft projects (i.e. painted tin cans and Popsicle sticks), broken and/or abandoned toys, scraps of paper, water bottles and their caps, colorful bits of broken water balloons, dried and/or wilted flowers, homemade brooms and the collection of pine needles and twigs that are used in their creation, and empty Tupperware containers with perforated lids that once contained a critter of some kind.  Last week Hubsy created the "Clean-Up Marathon", and invited all of the neighborhood kids to earn a Popsicle.  Everyone raised their scouting fingers and vowed to keep it clean.  The next day there were bottle caps in the bushes!

5)  The doorbell.  It rings and rings and rings.  It's as if the nine other neighborhood kids are lined up, single file, in the driveway, each taking their turn to step up and push the button.  Sometimes, they counter the rings with intermittent door knocks.  They always seem to come in the middle of a movie or a show, or a game, or when my hands are full of painting, or cleaning supplies.

6)  The ins and outs.  Princess loves to play tag with her friends, but she cheats.  When someone gets a little too close to tagging her, she decides that our front hall is home base.  In she comes, then out she goes.  She's in for a drink... then out.  Then her friend wants a drink.  Then they all want Popsicles.  She's in to change her shoes... see what I'm doing... pet the kitty... grab a cookie, etc.  And if she's in for any more than three minutes, the doorbell begins it's repetitive song.

7)  Not the TV show, but my actual Clean House.  When the kids are in school, I can clean and straighten any room, and it will actually remain clean, and smell fresh, for up to six hours, consecutively!  As it stands now, by the time I make my way to the other side of a room and turn back to see the results... a pair of flip flops has mysteriously appeared on the floor, a dirty dish has magically appeared on the table, a piece of clothing has materialized across the back of a chair.

8)  Time to myself.  I can't start a Karaoke Revolution with spying eyes giggling from around the corner.  What if I want to throw on some Jason Derulo and do a little poppin' and lockin', until things start poppin' out of place and lockin' up on me?  I can't subject my children to that.  That's the sort of torture one gets at Guantanamo.

9)  On various days, there are two times the number of children in my house, than I have personally given birth to.  If I had wanted to be responsible for this many human beings, I would've married a Dugger.  (For those of you not quite up to speed, The Duggers are that reality television family with more kids than Kate Goslin and "Brangelina" combined!).

10)  Cabin Fever.  All three kids have have spent the last two months together.  All of the summer fun is winding down, and they're becoming bored with the things they couldn't wait to do all school year. They're beginning to turn on each other. I'm waiting for that moment when I find fifteen type-written pages of "all play and no work makes Punkin a dull girl".  Maybe I should start hiding the axe.

I'm sure that in about eight or nine months, I'm going to start writing another post about "Why I Can't Wait For Summer Vacation".  When you start to see signs of that happening ... somebody please slap me!