The only "vacation spot" I remember as a kid was my Aunt Flora's cabin in the mountains of Montana....she had a little log cabin in the woods. If I remember correctly, there was no running water and no electricity. A creek ran behind her house and that is where we'd take a quick "bath" and cool a watermelon - all at the same time! She had a a big wood burning stove that she cooked over. Although I can't remember a single meal... There was a hammock that I can remember my dad relaxing in....a guest house that I was never old enough to enter. And somewhere or other I can see pictures of us eating popcorn...but how did we make it?! Surely not in the microwave like I made it for my girls tonight (as I was on my second glass/bottle of wine - Aunt Flora never had wine...did she?!?!?) Maybe that's why I am drawn to the mountains/forest for my ultimate vacation. It is the only vacation I remember taking as a child - and it was wonderful. I remember being so excited that I was finally old enough to hike to the waterfalls (not one, not two, but three waterfalls high!) with my dad (and older siblings) and one time truly believing we were lost (and maybe I was a bit scared? Aunt Flora had shown us that cake pan that the bears had gotten...). I remember finally being old enough to take the road trip to Yellowstone National Park with my dad - once. Heaven knows he wasn't insane enough to take little ones on that road trip! I wonder if there are similar pictures of me and my brother, Dominic, somewhere swimming in the Boulder River...well, the last time I remember being at Aunt Flora's was 1980...so hopefully I am creating similar fun memories of being in the mountains for my girls. Instead of the Boulder River, they're in Fools Hollow Lake....instead of being at Aunt Flora's, they're in some stranger's cabin in Heber...either way, we are creating memories around a fire with their family. And someone is pushing someone else into the water...and surely there are disagreements among them....goodness gracious. How did my parents do it?! Who knows. Maybe while Daddy had the older kids off on some hike Mother and Aunt Flora were kicking back watching us little ones in the river with their own bottle of wine....gosh, I hope so. They surely deserved it!
So now back to my memories as MOM...as Mother...gosh...I still marvel how my mom kept track of TEN of us...I have only two and they challenge me...every day. I challenged Carolyn to swim dock to dock -- maybe about 100 yards. I am a horrible judge of distance - and on the water, even worse - so for all I know, it could have been 1/2 a mile.... So Scooter and Elyse walked her to the other dock and I stood at the other to wait. Fully clothed. Ready to jump in and save my baby if necessary. HA! It took her about five minutes to swim the distance....but as I've said, she's a strong swimmer and she had no problems. Next feat: the English Channel. Ha. I was one proud Mama.
So now here I sit in my "little cabin in the woods"...enjoying the last night of my ultimate vacation with my family... with a bottle of wine under my belt...sigh. I want my girls to have these fond memories of good times with their parents...playing games, swimming, hiking....bonding....that's what vacation is about right?
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