Reality Check
For some reason coming home from vacation involves a reality check. At least it does in my case. On a week ago Friday, I drove the kids half-way to Grandma's house. Don't worry Grandma drove the other half and met me. Having shipped the kids off the a week long vacation of fun at Grandma's, I drove back home for a round trip of 4 hours. The next day we pile into the car, my husband, his sister and her husband and we spent a delightful 8-10 hours in the car on the drive to Gatlinburg, TN (we stayed in Pidgeon Forge). We had rented a two-bedroom cabin. Okay, for those of you who thought a cabin should be a rustic built-with-sticks "house" with a lovely outhouse checkout http://baskinscreek.com/external/2_bedroom_cabins.html and select Above It All Log Cabin. That's where we stayed.
So we have this awesome cabin we're staying at and the area is definitely a tourist's dream (which husband and I are not), but we were close to the Smoky Mountains National Park which is my husband's dream. I, on the other hand, just liked being in a cabin that was clean and air conditioned and being able to relax with no kids and not having to worry about what should be getting done around the house. So everyone did there own thing for the most part. My husband went to the park everyday to hike or bike. My BIL and SIL alternated between site seeing and the park. On one day I actually went into Gatlinburg with my SIL. We went to a psychic (we went in separately) and then laughed at lunch after since she fed me the same lines as she had fed SIL and then had asked both of us if we wanted the "negative energy" cleansed from us. Of course, we both tentatively said yes until she added "oh, yeah, that will cost ya". Apparently my SIL, who went first had a really dirty aura, since the psychic told her it would be $300 for the cleansing. I'm only a little dirty (dramatic pause) so she told me it would cost me $50. Darn the luck. The credit card machine was broke and I didn't have enough money, I guess I'll have to figure a different way to cleanse the negative energy. If she hadn't fed us the same exact lines (note she was doing a tarot card reading for SIL and a palm reading for me) and maybe had been a little better at the actual art of tarot and palmestry, it would have been more fun.
Anyway, we then went shopping and then went to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Aquarium. Which was really good by the way. Picked up pirate hats for the kids (they loved it). Of course, I showed the $1 brochure of the Aquarium to my son and he asked why we didn't take him (I told him maybe next time). We did Hillbilly MiniGolf on the side of a mountain. They trolley you up a ways and you work your way down. Very amusing. I suck at MiniGolf, but it was fun. Another night we went on one of the ghost tours. It was okay. Kinda like watching the travel channel but actually being there.
Meanwhile, on the home front, the kids are having a blast at Grandma's(my mom's) with their cousins. I called my mom everyday (free long distance with the cabin). My Grandpa's condition got really bad one morning and he called my mom at 5 am to come out and watch Grandma (she's paralysed on one side due to a stroke). He spends the next night in the hospital on a diaretic to drain the fluid in his lungs because the doctor had told him to stop taking the diaretic. My mom and my kids spend the night out at my Grandparent's farm that night and Grandpa comes home the next day. Mom tells me in the phone call on that day that not only are most of his arteries clogged going to his heart and he has an aneruism, but the enlarged prostate is probably cancerous and his kidneys are failing, but he's coming home.
On Thursday, we drive back from vacation not as much fun is had in the car, but we're still in good spirits. My husband and I unpack and then repack for my mom's house for the weekend. Reality Check. That night I sat and thought about all the things I wanted to ask my Grandpa about his life and all the things that I want to tell him. But when the time came when I was with him and Grandma, I did what we always do. Sit in silence. When I left for home today, I kissed and hugged him and told him I loved him. Now, all I can hope is that I'll get another chance to sit in silence and kiss and hug him and tell him I love him.
For some reason coming home from vacation involves a reality check. At least it does in my case. On a week ago Friday, I drove the kids half-way to Grandma's house. Don't worry Grandma drove the other half and met me. Having shipped the kids off the a week long vacation of fun at Grandma's, I drove back home for a round trip of 4 hours. The next day we pile into the car, my husband, his sister and her husband and we spent a delightful 8-10 hours in the car on the drive to Gatlinburg, TN (we stayed in Pidgeon Forge). We had rented a two-bedroom cabin. Okay, for those of you who thought a cabin should be a rustic built-with-sticks "house" with a lovely outhouse checkout http://baskinscreek.com/external/2_bedroom_cabins.html and select Above It All Log Cabin. That's where we stayed.
So we have this awesome cabin we're staying at and the area is definitely a tourist's dream (which husband and I are not), but we were close to the Smoky Mountains National Park which is my husband's dream. I, on the other hand, just liked being in a cabin that was clean and air conditioned and being able to relax with no kids and not having to worry about what should be getting done around the house. So everyone did there own thing for the most part. My husband went to the park everyday to hike or bike. My BIL and SIL alternated between site seeing and the park. On one day I actually went into Gatlinburg with my SIL. We went to a psychic (we went in separately) and then laughed at lunch after since she fed me the same lines as she had fed SIL and then had asked both of us if we wanted the "negative energy" cleansed from us. Of course, we both tentatively said yes until she added "oh, yeah, that will cost ya". Apparently my SIL, who went first had a really dirty aura, since the psychic told her it would be $300 for the cleansing. I'm only a little dirty (dramatic pause) so she told me it would cost me $50. Darn the luck. The credit card machine was broke and I didn't have enough money, I guess I'll have to figure a different way to cleanse the negative energy. If she hadn't fed us the same exact lines (note she was doing a tarot card reading for SIL and a palm reading for me) and maybe had been a little better at the actual art of tarot and palmestry, it would have been more fun.
Anyway, we then went shopping and then went to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Aquarium. Which was really good by the way. Picked up pirate hats for the kids (they loved it). Of course, I showed the $1 brochure of the Aquarium to my son and he asked why we didn't take him (I told him maybe next time). We did Hillbilly MiniGolf on the side of a mountain. They trolley you up a ways and you work your way down. Very amusing. I suck at MiniGolf, but it was fun. Another night we went on one of the ghost tours. It was okay. Kinda like watching the travel channel but actually being there.
Meanwhile, on the home front, the kids are having a blast at Grandma's(my mom's) with their cousins. I called my mom everyday (free long distance with the cabin). My Grandpa's condition got really bad one morning and he called my mom at 5 am to come out and watch Grandma (she's paralysed on one side due to a stroke). He spends the next night in the hospital on a diaretic to drain the fluid in his lungs because the doctor had told him to stop taking the diaretic. My mom and my kids spend the night out at my Grandparent's farm that night and Grandpa comes home the next day. Mom tells me in the phone call on that day that not only are most of his arteries clogged going to his heart and he has an aneruism, but the enlarged prostate is probably cancerous and his kidneys are failing, but he's coming home.
On Thursday, we drive back from vacation not as much fun is had in the car, but we're still in good spirits. My husband and I unpack and then repack for my mom's house for the weekend. Reality Check. That night I sat and thought about all the things I wanted to ask my Grandpa about his life and all the things that I want to tell him. But when the time came when I was with him and Grandma, I did what we always do. Sit in silence. When I left for home today, I kissed and hugged him and told him I loved him. Now, all I can hope is that I'll get another chance to sit in silence and kiss and hug him and tell him I love him.
posted by Amanda @ 7:17 PM
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