5 Favorite Vacation Moments

If you might have noticed I’ve been gone a week. I meant to give you notice but then I forgot. I didn’t want to blog on vacation, focusing on other things like writing poetry and reading. My family (my parents, my brother and I) rented a house in Massachusetts for the week.  It was on  the lake and we had several canoes, kayaks and a paddleboard. Inside the house was stocked with games, a wood stove and a ping pong table. We each had our own bedroom. I took the smallest bedroom even though the roof slanted so when I woke up I would have to be careful not to bang my head. I just felt called to that room and when I saw one of the books (the house had a lot of books) on the shelf was Winnie the Pooh, I knew I had chosen right. The whole week was an exercise in relaxation but here were five moments that stuck out.

5) Posing for photos at the Dr. Seuss museum and the Van Gogh exhibit. I don’t really believe in the selfie culture but I loved posing with Thing One and Thing Two or looking out Van Gogh’s window. And of course I respect Dr. Seuess and Van Gogh as writers and painters. 

4) Going out to dinner. Because there weren’t many places to eat around us, we went out for dinner once. None of us knew what to expect but turned out to be a really nice place with tablecloths and wine menus and unlimited bread. We were so happy to be there we got two appetizers and dessert in addition to our salads and entrees. No offense to my family but I was so tired of grilled chicken.

3) A canoe ride on the lake with my dad.  I remember the first time I was boating I was 12 and I capsized at camp. Since then my prowess with a paddle has grown. I used to boat the kids around when I was a counselor which is a big responsibility even if everyone is wearing life jackets. Now I go kayaking with friends at least once every summer. My dad and I took the canoe out several times in the evening to avoid the hot sun.

4) Playing ping pong before breakfast. My brother amused himself by playing lefty and beating us anyway. I should mention I’ve been on a extra high dose of medication since my last manic episode about a month ago. It’s been affecting my hand eye coordination as well as my cognitive abilities. I forget words or substitute other words that don’t entirely make sense. It makes reading aloud to my mom very difficult. It makes writing very difficult. I played some pickleball on vacation and it was impossible to make contact with the ball. I did a little better with ping pong though.

5) Having a fire every night. My brother impressed me by building a fire in the stove almost every night. The four of us split a bag of marshmallows.  Some of us liked theirs mildly brown while others preferred incinerated beyond recognition. After marshmallows there were games. My dad and I played Rummy 500. The four of us played Werewords which is my favorite game. You need four people to play it which means I don’t get to play it at home unless Justin is over. The rest of my family would stay up and take advantage of all the games the cabin offered (plus the fifteen or so we had also bought) but my medication was kicking in and there was no point to trying to fight it. I would go up the long staircase and pass out in my bed. 

I had a great vacation. Anytime I get to see my brother is precious time to me. There are many things I’ll remember about this vacation. Trying to swim (it was too cold but I made an attempt with an inner tube), the Edith Wharton mug Dad would give me my coffee in in  the morning, the tomato salad Mom made me while Dad was outside grilling so I wouldn’t get too hungry. But it is nice to be home with Scout and all my craft supplies and a routine (which has always been good for my OCD). Not to mention (spoiler alert) on Wednesday I enter the last year of my twenties.