Last Saturday was gorgeous (okay it's taken me forever to get this out, it was two Saturdays ago, forgive me). The curtains billowed in the gentle breeze, bright sunshine streamed through every window and the sky was as blue as ever. We borrowed the LL Bean kid carrier from my sister in law, packed up the other backpack with all necessary things such as sunscreen, diapers, wipes, bottles for Luke, water for us, the hiking book, baseball hats, and the ever elusive, often left behind in the craziness, camera. We drove The Bro (Bravada) out to Buttermilk Falls Road which turned into a gravelly dirt road for what seemed forever. I thought for sure the wheels were going to fall off and there we would be stranded. Yes I am more city than country, more conservative than liberal, basically a wimp when it comes to adventure. John agreed though, that The Bro currently isn't made for rough-roading it. But I digress, we made it there fine and The Bro is still braving the roadways.
Luke quite enjoyed the ride perched on his father's back. He grabbed on to his shirt with his little hand and we didn't hear a peep out of him the entire time. I on the other hand basically bitched the entire climb up the mountain. It just kept going up and up, a 300 ft. ascent. I don't know if that's steep or not, but for a woman in the early stages of pregnancy, who is essentially, sadly out of shape my heart was pounding. Pounding so loud I thought it might explode. I was part embarrassed and part nervous (wimp?) to push myself with this life inside me. Seriously though up and up and up we went. I was pissed at John for not stopping more (even though we stopped plenty and all he did was encourage me, sorry!) and pissed at the mountain for being steep and pissed at myself for not handling it well. We finally reached Inman Pond and well, it was snow covered in spots still, and not the most glorious of sites after all that hardwork. We did see what looked to be a 100 year old snapping turtle. I freaked. It's tail was that of an alligator all spikey and scary looking.
On our descent, Luke started to get cranky, he was over-tired and having a hard time trying to figure out how to fall asleep upright with a bobbing head. Poor little one. He managed though and slept most of the way back. Of course going down was a breeze save for dodging the mudslides of thawing wet dirt and leaves. It was a good feeling when all was said and done and I apologized for being so bitchy.
That night we were to meet John's friends who were in town and their significant others for dinner in Saratoga. We had 2 hours to feed Luke, get him ready for Grandma and get ourselves showered and dressed for going out. We did it all and fell asleep waiting for my mom to arrive. We had fun with our friends and enjoyed a nice dinner with good service (thankfully!).
That's more than we've done in one day in a long time. We've been complaining of the on-set of evening boredom. Scrabble games, tv shows, and laptops planted on our thighs have replaced evenings out, the freedom of who, where, when and forever long we want. Then we go out for an evening of fun in Saratoga and all we could think about was, "what is Luke doing? Do you think he went to bed okay? Did she give him a tubby? Did he miss us?" Our friends were regaling us with their stories of the recent Caribbean cruise they took, it sounded like fun, we felt a bit left out as our last trip was two years ago to Maine. Our lives are different, and while in a way a tiny part of us misses that life, we're so glad we're done. We talked about Luke the entire drive home. We'll take a little boredom since with it comes giggles, cuddles, discovery, and the biggest baby grin that can melt our hearts in a second. When I pick him up at daycare he squeals and crawls as fast as he can to grab onto my pant legs. It is too precious.
I'd so rather play scrabble at home and climb a mountain with my guys than whatever the alternative is. This is "it", right here at home.
PS. I feel totally completely spoiled that we get to go on vacation this summer and the place is called Twinkle by the Sea. Isn't that the cutest name for a story book beach front cottage in Maine? Thanks Mom, I cannot wait to sit Luke's little bum in the sand!
2 comments:
When I look back at my life before Lukas it seems empty. I do miss the ability to just get in the car and go or eat a warm meal but it pails in comparison to how I feel when he smiles and giggles.
We got one of those baby backpacks as a shower gift and I love it! Lukas loves it too - he likes to be right at eye level with everything.
PS - I am right there with ya on the bitchin' the whole way up the mountain!
You are such a gorgeous family!
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