The Three Falls of Our Vacation

Big Muddy Creek Falls

We spent the week in a fabulous house on the lake last week doing a whole lot of nothing! After a hellish week at work and three days of training for Logos, I was seriously toast. Given that, we took advantage of only a fraction of the fun the area had to offer. We did manage to visit Swallow Falls and Big Muddy Creek Falls and take a bit of a hike. Of course, being me, I managed to do a fall of my own. As we headed out mid-afternoon to visit the falls it looked like rain--pretty much like it had the entire time we were there. We decided to brave it. About 2 miles from the house the rain started, first big drops, then a serious down pour. As we wove up, down and around back country roads I was not feeling confident. Finally after paying our entry fee we sat in the parking lot debating what to do as really wet people emerged from the woods. Thankfully, less than 10 minutes later things cleared off and we headed into the woods.


Boobah LOVES her Baby Jogger and I have to admit its one of the few baby purchases we still use. I loaded her up and we were off. After a short walk we came to handicapped access to the falls. Given that I was pushing her it seemed like a no brainer. Apparently the no brainer would have been to read the slip and fall warning on the big sign more carefully. About halfway down the deck of the pathway my feet went out from under me and I landed on my rear pulling the stroller back on top of me. Boobah was just fine but surprised to be looking me in the eyes from flat on her back. Thankfully I had the loop around my wrist and she stayed right with me. After that Dad took over stroller duty. You can see him, my sister, Mom & the girls below. Also, the park is named after Swallow Falls but our view of it was much less spectacular than the other we saw.

You can check out my review of more vacation entertainment over at Maven Says, we watched Word World as part of our road trip and everyone was entertained. You can read what others have to say about it over at Parent Bloggers Network.

Insomnia Returns

Aghhhhhhhhhhhhh!

I thought vacation was for relaxing and part of relaxing is sleeping. I forgot, I don't sleep well in someone else's bed. Even when Gman relocates to give us both some peace, quiet and room to stretch out. Every night I was up every couple of hours despite my usual herbal sleep cocktail. My two year old nephew was up bright and early every morning running laps around the house. This picture pretty much tells the story, he is a constant motion machine. Restrain him and its not pretty. (Gman's pictures of the trip are here.)

We came home and I was sure that the insomnia would clear once I was happily ensconced in my own bed with clean, fresh sheets. No dice! In fact, it was worse than ever. Saturday night I was up and down several times, finally resorting to bad TV in the family room. The last time I remember seeing the clock before finally sinking into a fitful sleep--4:00AM. We accidentally slept until 9:25 yesterday morning and did the major boogie to get to church by 10. After the week and Saturday night I was sure last night would be the night. Nope. I was a serious fish, flopping all over the bed so I went to the couch to give Gman a break. I eventually returned around 2AM. Still flopping around. Finally I got comfortable and slept sometime between 2-3 AM. I took today off as vacation recovery but the girls were up fighting over something early this morning so no sleeping in. I'm off to see if acupuncture can get me back on the right track. Please?

Vaaaaaaaaaaaacaaaaaaaaaaaaation

We are away at Deep Creek Lake in Western Maryland for the week. Its slow--everything from getting going in the morning to the day to the dial-up internet. I haven't felt my usual vacation impatience of trying fit stuff in, just hanging out, not worrying about much of anything. We took the little kids to "Toddler Tuesday" for some hiking, animals and playgrounds. They even let them paint and cleaned up after them--worth every penny! Then we took Mom out for her birthday pizza and made homemade ice cream. Tonight we'll go to the park's weekly bonfire for roasted marshmallows, stories and drumming. Tomorrow is date night courtesy of the grandparents. Maybe a little kayaking on Friday. In all its slowness, the week is going much too fast!

Then there is a small world is playing in my head. We went to the weekly party thrown by the rental company, ran into someone we know from church here in Maryland. Her brother was with her and he and my brother-in-law know each other from their hometown in Pennsylvania--what are the odds?

It only takes one person

I went to a training program this evening for a youth program that we have at our church. The National organization is The Logos Ministry. As training goes I have to say it was one of the best I've ever attended--it didn't feel like training and the time flew by. It started at 5:30 on Friday afternoon the weekend we are set to go on vacation so I can honestly say that is an accomplishment! I've participated in the program for two years and can see the difference it has made in my church. The part of the program that is most appealing to me is the emphasis on adults in the church developing positive relationships with the kids in the church. I've enjoyed eating dinner with the kids and learning more about them but hadn't thought much more about it.

Tonight we saw a portion of a sermon by the founder of the program. He talked about his experience growing up in church. He was the youngest boy and didn't live up to the fine example of his three older brothers. He said no one called him by name, he was that fourth boy who was trouble. He was kicked out of Sunday School, he wouldn't have been there if he hadn't been forced by his parents, 52 weeks of the year, 2-3 times a week. When you think about it, that's a lot of time to spend somewhere that you don't want to be and they don't respect you. Finally a new pastor came. He put his arm around him and asked him to help him with something. He knew Dale's name. It was a seminal moment for the boy who went on to get a doctorate and start a youth ministry program that is now in 1500 churches across 20 denominations.

Hearing the story made me think long and hard about my relationship with the kids in my church. It also made me think about relationships that adults form with kids in general. I guess I hadn't given much thought to what my interactions with kids, especially teenagers, outside of my own kids really meant. We have a very active group of little boys in our church. I know there are days when many of us have to steel ourselves to deal with them. Hearing this story made me think I need to work harder at creating and maintaining a positive relationship with one or more of those boys. The statistic I have heard is that 8 out of 10 kids stop going to church in their teens. A time when we could all use some adult influence other than our own parents (having our niece here this week made that clear). No matter how much they love their parents and their parents love them the growing up process is not an easy one. Its a lot easier to be deal with an adult who doesn't have to love them and who they don't perceive as trying to control them.

We have very few teenagers in our congregation, many families have left to find places that engage their children. Thankfully we have this program and my kids started while they are very young. I hope that they will develop those relationships and when they are teenagers they will want to go to church to be with those people who they know care about them--even if it means getting out of bed and doing something Mom and Dad think is a good idea. It does take a village, or in this case a congregation, to raise a child.

And then we got Naked

It is Restaurant Week in Baltimore, lots of restaurants offered a 3-course Prix Fix menu for $30.07, having our niece here for the week we took advantage of the babysitter under our roof and hooked up with Es for a night out on the town. We typically don't venture into Baltimore for a night out, somehow its always seemed like a major ordeal but I think tonight might have changed our minds!

Of course being us we didn't settle on a restaurant until sometime this morning and I suggested we might need a reservation. Apparently THAT was the understatement of the century--the first three places we picked all completely booked for the evening, although at a couple there were reservations available at 4:45 and at 10PM. Finally we (meaning I just finally stopped consulting and picked one) decided to try Hawaiian fusion. We ended up at Roy's Restaurant with Es chauffeuring us in her rental SUV. We slid right up front and took advantage of valet parking. We were early (yeah, like that has ever happened before) so we took a seat at the bar and I had the most amazing Pomegranate Patron Mojito, tequila and pomegranate really what more could I want? It was truly fabulous! Finally we took our seats and since it was my day to make the decisions I threw out some wine options and naturally we all agreed on Naked Riesling. Our waiter, with the seriously Bart Simpson hairdo, laughed at us and asked about our wild night. The wine was awesome, I'll definitely need to procure some to add to my stash right along side the Running with Scissors Chardonnay.

Next it was on to dinner. I was a bit bummed with my limited selection due to my shellfish allergy. Gman was kind enough to trade me a shrimp from the appetizer plate for the best spare rib I ever had--is that love or what?! Then it was on to dinner where I enjoyed short ribs while Es and Gman had shrimp pad thai and salmon in lobster cream sauce. Then it was on to dessert molten chocolate cake that nearly made us lick our plates, in fact writing about it is making my mouth water. The whole meal was fabulous but as always the company was better. I am sure we will be heading back, we've vowed to get out more often and try new places. This one was certainly a hit!

Feelin' like a million bucks

I have been totally unmotivated this week, tired, still a bit of a lingering cough and just kind of blah. Last night I went for my every other week acupuncture tune-up and it was amazing. I felt better last evening and this morning it wasn't such an effort to get out of bed (and its not because I got any extra sleep). I started off warm, not even really knowing it, by the end of the session I was much cooler and the acupuncturist had worked up a sweat. Seeing that exchange of energy was pretty amazing. It took awhile in the beginning to see results beyond the relaxing hour and a half with someone tending to me (just me). Now that I've been going regularly it is amazing to see the changes that can happen in that short period of time.

Overall I just feel better. I am sleeping better which was my whole goal when I started. I was a bit discouraged when things didn't start to change immediately but was reminded its a journey. Now that I have been going regularly for several months I can see the journey and all its benefits. I am generally calmer and things don't get to me like they used to--my boss has noticed and so has my husband. I feel more in control of my emotions too. Maybe NOW I can get back on the road to MILF-dom after this little side journey to get the rest of my life in order. Seeing the connections is really quite amazing.

If you've ever thought of trying acupuncture I encourage you to take the plunge. Really there is nothing to lose, there has never been more than a slight twinge of pain and that has been rare. Concentrating on your own well being is amazingly restorative. I know this probably sounds a bit like a testimonial and in a way it is. Go, do something good for yourself.

Rituals of the Past

I opened my e-mail account this morning to find the following e-mail from an old friend....

Greetings Recovering Housing Friends!

Waking up today was not stressful. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t until the news anchor noted the date that I realized it was even August 1st.

Everyone remembers the significance of August 1st RIGHT (or you wouldn’t be getting this email)…training started.

Yes, days and days of policy review, opening of school information, team building exercises, copying lots of stuff, finalizing late RA hires, eating lunch at the Schwebel Room, planning for the RAs to arrive and 1000 other things!

So, nine years after my last August 1st training day started, I can finally enjoy the day. Why? Because I’m NOT going to TRAINING!

Now, this doesn’t mean I didn’t like training, after all I was assigned nine of those years to coordinate some part of training (RA, RD, KIC and GA).

Yes, we still remember it, vividly all these years later. I worked as a Resident Director for 7 years. Seven years of safety and diversity and communication training for two weeks followed by another couple of weeks of passing it on to my own staff. Team building, did she mention the team building exercises? It had fun moments but in some ways it made you long for the craziness of the school year so you could wake up from the training haze. Every night after the numbing training sessions there were rooms to inspect and forms to fill out--ah, those were the days. The good news was 2 months off, or at least 2 months doing something slightly different and enjoying the summer slow down on the campus.

Sometimes I miss those days--mostly those school schedule induced breaks that don't happen in the corporate world. One day someone at work remarked about how calm I was in a crisis. I looked him in the eye and told him I didn't have to worry about keying into a room and finding a dead kid, no drunks threw up on me and the police never called at 4AM so as crisis went this was really nothing.