. . . isn't coming home from a vacation, although that's a close second; the worst thing is in fact, unpacking from a vacation! There's nothing I'd rather do less, than unload all this stuff, stuff that seems to have multiplied over the last 6 days that we were back home in Maine. Even worse, while it was only Gaby and me - (Gareth is neck-deep in projects with looming deadlines, at work), we took, and then came home with enough stuff to probably outfit a family of 7, who was going away for a trip around the world.
I had the best intentions of maybe tossing up a post here or there while we were gone, but that never happened. Between getting together with friends, playing in the sand at the (chilly and windy) beach, playing with the two kitties at the beach cottage where we stayed (the home owner, a very good friend of ours, was away visiting family in PA and offered her home to us), to just enjoying being home, I really never opened the computer long enough to do anything other than check movie times, sunset, sunrise, and low and high tide times.
Gaby and I also read books. Lots and lots of books. There's just something about cuddling up with a really good book while the wind (my gosh, there was a lot of wind last week along the coast), rattles the eaves, and letting the hours pass by without a care in the world.
We managed to get in a couple of swims at the local YMCA, too many meals out, and lots of walks (or in my case, waddling limps) along the shore, as well as lots of photos, but for the most part, we just relaxed and enjoyed being home.
Now that I'm wading through the mounds of laundry and assorted goodies I brought back for family that need to be mailed before the Second Coming (I am notoriously bad about getting things in the mail in a timely manner) I'm putting off posting on a regular basis again. Alas, not for much longer. Thankfully Gaby wears uniforms to school so I was able to put off washing her clothes while I sat there and just looked at the unpacked luggage and other bags filled with God-only-knows-what. I have a feeling Gaby hid lots of rocks into any and all available nooks and crannies of our bags, as she picks up a rock from what seems like every single place we visit. It's getting to the point where I have visions of scenes from the film, The Long Long Trailer, with Desi Arnez and Lucille Ball - incidentally one of my favorite films, ever - in which my car veers dangerously close to a cliff's edge because the weight of all the rocks shifts and sends us very nearly careening to our deaths!
This kid of mine has been collecting rocks since she could walk. The term, "Leave no stone unturned" has very literal meaning for her. I do have to say though, she's found some really beautiful stones over the years; one that (or should I have used "which" in this case? I always get confused) she picked up at the edge of a little brook which wound down to the ocean, and it's shaped like a heart. I need to remember to check the pockets of her jackets and jeans as well, otherwise, we're likely to be sitting here, after I've thrown a load of her clothes into the dryer, and be assaulted by what sounds like the house being pelted by boulders, only to find out that a few of her prized rocks had been laundered and were now literally being tumbled dry.
Oh and shhhhhh, don't tell anyone, but can I just tell you that I'm kinda glad that Gaby is back in school? I know I know, we aren't supposed to say things like that out loud. Well, after 12 days of being home with her, 6 of those just me and her, I've come to realize that she is quickly becoming my intellectual superior and given a few more years, I'm totally screwed. There just were not enough answers to her questions - some of them stuff that I should know, like why exactly the tides rise and fall, and how fast does the earth spin, and other assorted questions that tested both me and Google. My beautiful girl talks more than I do, and sometimes faster than I do, and I am finding it sometimes hard to keep up with her, both physically and intellectually. It's both amusing and horrifying all at once, and makes me feel as if I should go back to school just so I can be on par with her in the coming years.
Having said all that, I've decided that taking a vacation with her, just she and me, her and I, me and her, mommy and daughter, is something I want to do every year. I went away with Meg back in 2009 before she left for the Air Force, and it was amazing to be able to spend that kind of one-on-one time with her. Sure, we had our moments when we would just as soon bitch slap one another than spend one more minute together, but it was an adventure I won't forget . . . especially letting my then-19 year old drive through the wilds of NYC on our way to the Chesapeake Bay area of VA. Once I get my hands on my oldest daughter again, I plan on making sure we have another one of those trips, too! I don't think you can ever know your children too much, and in my case, when it comes to my older children, I'm still getting to know them. When it comes to Gaby, right when I think I'm getting used to this new 7-year-old's strong independent streak and willful attitude, we spend hours in the car while driving along, talking about anything and everything, singing together (our current favorite is "Cups" by Anna Kendrick), and I see this other side of Gaby, a side that's wise beyond her years, and more mature than most 7-year-olds I know. This is a girl who looks at life in amazing, unusual, yet beautiful ways, and has a smart-ass sense of humor to boot. It's like watching a sculpture metamorphose, or, I guess the better word would be, watch it "become" as time (and experience in the case of a real, living, breathing being) molds it. I can't wait to see what she becomes and how her experiences shape the woman she grows into.
More about our vacation (and I can't wait to tell you about Bessie's!) later. Right now there is a rather large pile of laundry that needs to washed, and assorted crap that needs to be put away. Yep, it's pretty sad when a vacation ends, but it's absolutely the worst when it comes to unpacking all this stuff!
welcome home!! I know that unpacking melodrama well......and my trips are typically WEEKS long...imagine trying to pack for New York, San Francisco AND Ft. Lauderdale...in January....let's just say fortunately my airline status allows 2 free bags....
As for the rocks, I have done that for decades...and sand too. The older I get, I have started putting them in little containers and marking the container with the date and location. There is nothing more frustrating than looking at a baggie of ROCKS and going, "why the hell am I saving these things" and throwing them away, only to remember 4 days later that those were the rocks I picked up on Omaha Beach with the 84 year old British WWII vet who had flown in the first wave on June 6, 1944. I'd met him at the youth hostel on the 60th anniversary of DDay, and he asked if I wanted to hang out with him for the day...
Posted by: SSP | Monday, April 08, 2013 at 05:03 PM
Oh what a wonderful trip from the sounds of it, had to be if you brought ROCKS back, GOTTA love me some rocks!!! ONE ON ONE time has to be the best.
Although it sure brings back memories of trailriding trips with friends to the Ozarks, horses and everything it takes to go with them and camping for a week.
Maybe one day i'll get my one on one again, with a fav person, but i may be too decrepit to keep up. TIME will TELL,
GLAD to hear from you again, TAKE CARE ALL. DONT" You dare throw away ROCKS!!! SACROLEEEGUS!!!!!
Posted by: [email protected] | Tuesday, April 09, 2013 at 12:05 PM