Trip to the Mountains

This past week-end, we ventured to the western part of the state. After signing four kids out of school early and luring my husband from the office, we spent most of Friday in the car. FFT at its best. Lots of good family conversation, shared music, food and fun as we traveled. We were making a trip of the best kind. A trip to see a family we all adore. We would meet for the week-end at a log cabin (or log cabinet as my four-year-old said)for some 'chillaxing' as my eleven-year-old would say. (Do I have my own vocabulary any more? Not sure) At any rate, yes, it was a very long trip for a week-end. Most of Friday and Sunday were spent in the car, but it was totally and completely worth it. We arrived at the cabin nine-ish Friday night and didn't get in the car again until about 2 on Sunday. It's amazing how many hours there are in the day when you're not rushing from one place to another. In many ways, it felt much longer than a week-end and the rejuvenation will certainly last for a very long time. I saw my husband relax for the first time in months and the kids just all fell in together and played and played. I find that I'm at a loss for words to explain the special-ness of this week-end, so I'll just say this: GET AWAY YOURSELF. Usually when we leave town, we're going SOMEWHERE. And once we get there, we're full of activities related to that SOMEWHERE. But this week-end was more like going NOWHERE. Sure it was stunningly beautiful and the accomodations sublime, but there were no demands of our time once we were there. We were free to carve it out as it came. The strength was in the lack of plans. The fun was in the nothing to do. The joy was in the easy way the time together evolved. Great thanks to our friends, the B family, who so graciously hosted us for a much-needed week-end. xoxox Pictures to follow soon.

A few redneck parenting tips for you today.
1. If your child eats all the remaining salt in the bottom of the pretzel bag, you needn't scold her. Soon, she will throw it all up, thus learning a valuable lesson on her own.
2. Bribery is still the best deal in town for your basic domestic labor needs. Offer the children a big prize (dessert before dinner, perhaps?) and their innate ability to clean blossoms before you. Take the money you saved and invest it in their college savings. Not only will they have money for school, BUT they'll know how to work when they get there.
3. Don't let children drink caffeinated drinks on a road trip. (including Coke slushies from Burger King) Your car will be like a rolling popcorn popper.

Oh, and I got home from my trip to my first rejection for my manuscript. :( But that's okay. Got some more out there! God has a home for this piece. I just know it. Have a good week. djk