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Best Mother's Day Ever
May. 11th, 2010 03:15 pmI had the best Mother's Day!
First, I got a huge hug from AG33, after his bashful admission that he hadn't bought or made me a present.
Then, I got a gift bag from The Barbarian that was FULL of Barbarian-made cute!
I had seen the forecast for Mother's Day and it was for a breezy day in the low 60s. Last weekend we were *this close* to going to Shenandoah. And Husband actually said he *would be going* this weekend, so I was pretty sure, combined with the forecast, that the outing was a done deal.
By way of background, when we used to live in Charlottesville, when Husband was a student, we were 30 minutes from the southern entrance to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park. We used to be there about every other weekend, or even every weekend, all seasons. AG33 was hiking there as soon as he could toddle. In fact, I was hiking while carrying him even earlier than that! But when we moved to Northern Virginia, we were farther away. Plus, our haunts were in the lower third of the Park, which is also the "wilderness" part of the Park. Anyway, we got out of the habit of going. The Barbarian had never even been. But I have missed it. Lots.
So anyway, on Saturday, I was talking with the kids about our probable trip on Mother's Day. What we would do, what the drive would be like. The Barbarian apparently was *really* excited about the idea, because on Sunday, when Husband decided we had started too late and it wasn't worth trying to drive out there, The Barbarian began to demand her trip!
Husband's first response was that the three of us should go – just me and the kids – if we wanted to. But as we were getting ready, he managed to end up in the car with us after all!
So we went!
And it was a blast! We actually had lunch at Skyland! I saw a bear! It was too cold and I didn't dress myself or the kids warmly enough, so we didn't hike, but we did get an annual pass, and we all had a fantastic time! I am 100% certain we will be back there, and be back there soon, ready to hike, with a picnic and our sweaters.
On the way back, I could see that we were already developing new traditions. As we drove slowly through the upper part of the park, stopping at the overlooks, Husband found a couple of new places that really intrigued him for hiking. We passed a used bookstore Husband wanted to visit. We found a roadside place with delicious, cheap softserve. We spotted a couple of little restaurants with potential. We passed landmarks that already have their own silly names.
It was absolutely the best Mother's Day present I could have gotten. I am so happy that it looks like we will have this interaction with nature, and particularly these mountains, back in our lives again.
First, I got a huge hug from AG33, after his bashful admission that he hadn't bought or made me a present.
Then, I got a gift bag from The Barbarian that was FULL of Barbarian-made cute!
I had seen the forecast for Mother's Day and it was for a breezy day in the low 60s. Last weekend we were *this close* to going to Shenandoah. And Husband actually said he *would be going* this weekend, so I was pretty sure, combined with the forecast, that the outing was a done deal.
By way of background, when we used to live in Charlottesville, when Husband was a student, we were 30 minutes from the southern entrance to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park. We used to be there about every other weekend, or even every weekend, all seasons. AG33 was hiking there as soon as he could toddle. In fact, I was hiking while carrying him even earlier than that! But when we moved to Northern Virginia, we were farther away. Plus, our haunts were in the lower third of the Park, which is also the "wilderness" part of the Park. Anyway, we got out of the habit of going. The Barbarian had never even been. But I have missed it. Lots.
So anyway, on Saturday, I was talking with the kids about our probable trip on Mother's Day. What we would do, what the drive would be like. The Barbarian apparently was *really* excited about the idea, because on Sunday, when Husband decided we had started too late and it wasn't worth trying to drive out there, The Barbarian began to demand her trip!
Husband's first response was that the three of us should go – just me and the kids – if we wanted to. But as we were getting ready, he managed to end up in the car with us after all!
So we went!
And it was a blast! We actually had lunch at Skyland! I saw a bear! It was too cold and I didn't dress myself or the kids warmly enough, so we didn't hike, but we did get an annual pass, and we all had a fantastic time! I am 100% certain we will be back there, and be back there soon, ready to hike, with a picnic and our sweaters.
On the way back, I could see that we were already developing new traditions. As we drove slowly through the upper part of the park, stopping at the overlooks, Husband found a couple of new places that really intrigued him for hiking. We passed a used bookstore Husband wanted to visit. We found a roadside place with delicious, cheap softserve. We spotted a couple of little restaurants with potential. We passed landmarks that already have their own silly names.
It was absolutely the best Mother's Day present I could have gotten. I am so happy that it looks like we will have this interaction with nature, and particularly these mountains, back in our lives again.
