The longest 11 days

18 days ago Jason left for India. On day two, I woke up and my laptop wouldn’t let me log in. What ensued was craziness. Jason is my tech support in all things, and he wasn’t here. My brother did his best remotely and my computer limped along for a few days, but with each day it got worse. Luckily my blackberry, a tiny little thing I can put in the pocket of my jeans, connected me to the world.

I still had email, I could text, and Jason could call me if the time was right. It still boggles my mind that on day three I sat at Noah’s baseball practice on a sunny Sunday and talked to my husband on the other side of the world like he was down the street. Pretty cool. But he wasn’t down the street. He was on the other side of the world, and somewhere in between, on day six, a volcano in Iceland decided to erupt. Excuse me?

After a long week of being the single parent, on day eight, our phone rang at seven in the morning and it was Jason telling me what we had feared. He was stuck. The plane he had hoped to get on later in the day was grounded in Germany. He was in the corporate travel office where three Indian employees were all working frantically to find flights home for Jason and two colleagues. One would be sent the other direction around the globe, through the Far East to the west coast, whereas the Jason and his boss would try to avoid the volcanic ash by going further south through Dubai, then over to Washington, DC. If all went as planned, he would get home two days late, on my 39th birthday. Day eleven.

I prepared for another weekend alone with the kids, and my sister came up to spend time with us. She took us out for a birthday lunch a day early, day ten. She even made sure the kids had a card for me, and that the waiters and waitresses sang to me. It still wasn’t right though.

On day eleven, I woke up alone and a year older. Alanya did her best reminding me over and over “You aren’t old, you’re young!” Somehow she didn’t convince me. Since Friday I had been dealing with the realization that no matter what we did, Jason was stuck on the other side of the world. It wasn’t a very good feeling. And until he came home, or at least was talking to me from American soil, I wouldn’t be happy.

First an email from Washington, DC, but they missed their connection. Then, an email from Boston. Finally, a phone call from the car. 2pm on my birthday I walked into the house to find a freshly showered, utterly exhausted husband, and it was the best birthday present ever.

All in all he was gone eleven days, but I can’t remember the last time we were apart that long. Too long. Reminds me of the summer he lived in Chicago and I was in Tunisia for nearly three months. Back then, Skype was only on the Jetsons, email was non-existent, and calling was still “long distance.” After that summer, we said never again, and we were engaged weeks later. Although I’m happy Jason had this experience to go to India, and I was happy to have the time with the kids, it served as a reminder of why we entered this marriage in the first place. We don’t want to spend another day apart from one another.

Here we go again!

Last week a friend I haven't seen in a while said, "You've been busy." How did she know? She reads my blog. Oops. Winter, wrestling, life... something has to give and I guess this was it.

Today is a snow day for us. About six inches of snow is expected, and although it hasn't started snowing yet, they called off school in anticipation of a messy afternoon. This is only our second snow day of the year so I appreciate the extra day at home. I need to focus and get some packing done around here for our annual trek to Florida. This will be our fourth Florida road trip and we leave Thursday. Problem is I don't prepare well in advance like I used to because we've done it so many times.

Last year I posted this survival kit to roadtrips article, and I sat down this morning to review it. How 21st century of me. I'm thrilled I took the time to consolidate our needs in one place, and now I just need to start piling things up in the corner. Wish me luck. It's going to be a long two days before we leave, and an even longer two days once we do!

Our small family get-together

I can't believe weeks have gone by since our vacation on the Jersey Shore. Summer does not offer the same quiet moments to sit down and blog, or perhaps I'm just too exhausted from having the kids home all the time. Either way, the summer can't end without reflecting on our seven days "on the shore" as they say. This was only our second year, but Jason's mother's side of the family has been vacationing there for twenty or more years.

All five of us had a wonderful time playing in the sand, and actually swimming in the ocean - something you rarely get to do up in New England. In New Jersey the water is actually warm enough to stay in for hours, which is exactly what the kids did. Noah would come out to eat and drink and then go back in. His boogie board was permanently attached to his wrist the entire trip.

The main event went far beyond just the five of us though. On the day we arrived, Jason's grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday in grand style with all four of her children, all eight of her grandchildren, as well as her five great-grandchildren. Throw in various spouses and a fiancee and there were 25 of us. Here is the official portrait for the week. It isn't often that a family that spreads from Seattle down to Los Angeles over to Georgia and up to New Hampshire can have a picture like this!

Much to Grandma's delight, she gets to share her birthday with her first great-granddaughter who turned seven this year. Alanya had to get up at three in the morning and endure nearly 10 hours in horrible traffic, but how many of us can say they shared their 7th birthday with their 90 year old great grandma?!

This is one of my favorite pictures we took that week. I happened to glance up and there they were with no one else around, just taking it all in.

For those of you who think we drag Grandma all the way to the beach to sit in a cottage, think again. Every day she makes it down to the beach and most days, with the help of her sons or grandsons, she ventures into the waves for a swim. She draws quite a crowd of onlookers. I actually overheard someone say "Oh my gosh, the old lady from last year is back!" Grandma always finishes her swim with a bunch of us cheering her on as she comes out of the water. It truly is inspiring to see.

More than anything, it is such a gift to be able to spend such a large amount of time with cousins, aunts, and uncles. I think what our family does is a rare thing these days. It isn't easy though, don't get me wrong. One of Jason's cousins was only there about 24 hours before she had to return for work, a few cousins had to leave for a day to work, and a few had to leave early because of other family commitments. But we all wanted to be there and we all made an effort to be in one place for one week. A rare thing for extended families these days. Every year we hope every one of us will return the following August, and maybe one year we won't. Until then, we're going to hold on to every moment.

New Hampshire at its best... part 3!

Our final day up north found us at Attitash, home of the famous mile-long alpine slide. I have very vague memories of riding with my father on the slide back around 1977, and I haven't forgotten it. The experience is still as thrilling more than thirty years later. You take a chairlift halfway up a mountain where you then get on a plastic sled with a control stick. Push it forward and it allows you to roll down the cement track, pull it back and you slow down and eventually stop. The slide curves through the trees and down the mountain for a fabulous ride. I wish I could post some pictures, but for obvious reasons they don't allow you to take photos while riding. All five of us had a ball and learned that going "full throttle" through the turns made the ride thrilling.

Next on the agenda was the bungy-trampoline jump. Our local mall has one of these contraptions set up inside and my kids have begged us to try it. Well, we all tried it and let me assure you, it was a new and fun experience, but once was probably good enough for us. The boys didn't quite understand you had to use your legs to push off from the trampoline, but Alanya got the hang of it quickly. Jason and I tried it too. It was fun, but I can think of other things I'd do first.

After a picnic lunch - it was an absolutely beautiful day - we took the chair lift to the summit. The top of Mt. Washington was in the clouds, but we had a spectacular view. Our last big activity was the climbing wall... another first for most of us. Again, the boys had a hard time with it, never really putting their trust in the attendants who were holding the ropes. I made it about 3/4 of the way up the wall, and Jason made it to the top, but the surprise of the day? Alanya is a climbing fool! She scrambled to the top of the "easy" wall twice, and then mastered the "medium" wall. We were all quite proud of our fearless girl.

Maybe she will be the next to get a motorcycle! Overall, a fabulous weekend, with lots of fun.

Ooooh, yuck!

For those of you who remember the post I did about Jason kissing the Blarney Stone in Ireland, consider this... the editors of Trip Advisor dot com has released a list of the top five 'germiest' tourist attractions. Guess what was at the top of the list. You got it. The Blarney Stone. Yuck! Get the Listerine and wet wipes!

New Hampshire at its best... part 2

Santa... in July? Only in New Hampshire at Santa's Village!

I know it sounds crazy, but there is a small, delightful (there is no other word to describe it!) amusement park in northern New Hampshire (actually more than one!) perfect for families with kids ten and younger. Storyland has always been our favorite, but this trip we tried out Santa's Village and we weren't disappointed.

Everything has some kind of Christmas themed twist, like the reindeer on the carousel. Instead of the teacups, you ride in the Little Drummer Boy's Drums. Instead of a sky ride you ride above the park in Santa's sleigh.

I have to admit, the only thing that did get old was the music... Christmas carols being played through the whole park can get on your nerves after a bit.

Finally, a trip to an amusement park isn't complete without a ride on the Yule Log Flume!!

We all had a great time, including Noah, but I know his interest level for a place like this may be fleeting with each passing year. Hopefully though we'll squeeze in a few more of these trips because I'm not quite done yet!

New Hampshire at its best!

This weekend we went up to the White Mountains and had a wonderful time. We didn't go last year and I really missed it. For someone who has lived in this state on and off for more than half my life, it always blows me away when go up to the mountains and realize what New Hampshire is really like. Living in the relatively 'big' city of the state, you tend to forget that the majority is lakes, farms and mountains. It truly is beautiful.

For any of you in the New England area who haven't ventured further than the greater Boston area, here is a taste of New Hampshire at it's best.

The Lost River Gorge and Caves

I had never visited this amazing park before, and we will definitely go back. A mountain river cutting through a rocky gorge of boulders and caves is an amazing sight, especially when you walk right through it all on walkways and stairs. It reminds you of Swiss Family Robinson as you walk through the trees and over pools of water and through caves. We had a blast squeezing through all the caves and exploring the different rock formations.

Here Alanya and I make our way out of one of the many caves.

The wedding guest

When I was six years old my family moved from Massachusetts to Texas. As I look back now as an adult I realize how huge this was because my parents had never lived more than a 20-30 minute drive from my grandparents. Every time we'd say goodbye after a visit the tears would flow. All we had were letters and phone calls, but back then "long distance" was expensive. There was nothing called unlimited minutes, or "friends and family". Later when I was studying overseas it was a similar story. Email was non-existent and every other Sunday my parents would call me at 7pm my time. If I missed the call, forget it, I'd have to wait another two weeks. We have come a long way in the last seventeen years, but I didn't realize exactly how far until our most recent trip to Seattle.

Last weekend every member of Jason's family found themselves in Seattle for his cousin's wedding. Everyone that is except for one very important person... Grandma. At 89 she is the matriarch and inspiration for all of us. Active in her community even today, she didn't begin to slow down until a few years ago when she survived a stroke. So she doesn't ride her bike or go hiking anymore, but she still enjoys each day. The day after the election Jason spoke to her and she told him some people had encouraged her to use an absentee ballot so she wouldn't have to battle potential crowds. Are you kidding? Grandma insisted on going to the polls. It was an exciting day and she wanted to experience it. A trip across town to vote is one thing, but a cross-country flight from New Jersey to Seattle would be too much. Grandma wouldn't be at the wedding.

Jason's aunt had other plans though. Before she left for Seattle she set up her laptop in Grandma's living room. Then the night of the wedding she and her daughter set up a second computer in the ballroom. With the assistance of a family friend that helps care for Grandma, a Skype call was successfully placed, and there she was. Grandma was at the wedding! As each guest arrived, they went over to the computer and said hello to Grandma. She was like an actual guest, except sitting on a table and resembling a MacBook. Shortly before the ceremony started the rabbi came up to us and asked about the laptop, and for a brief moment I was afraid he would tell us it wasn't appropriate for a religious ceremony. Instead he wanted to suggest that we move it to the front row so that Grandma could get a better view!

The wedding began, and as the bride and her parents walked down the aisle a cousin held the laptop up for Grandma to see. The bride smiled into the computer and waved, and when Grandma beamed and waved back the tears started flowing all around. Jason's aunt had done it. Grandma was at the wedding. No wedding is complete without a family portrait, so here it is.

If you look really close, you can see Jason on the laptop screen taking the picture. What a wonderful thing technology can be when it really can make a difference. Who needs "long distance" when you can actually be there??

From the top of the Space Needle!

If anyone was wondering where I've been for the last week, Jason and I took off for four days in Seattle for a family wedding. This photo was taken Sunday from the top of the Space Needle. If I look a little nauseous and like I want to leave it's because I don't like being up high like that. I did my one rotation and then promptly moved to the inside area of the outer deck.

We had a wonderful time, and after I recover from the red-eye flight we took home, I'll be sure to share. Stay tuned...

Proof in the pics... cont.

Are they standing on a whale out there? Walking on water? This was a huge sand bar that they waded out to, and I remained on the shore as photographer. The water was a little chilly for me and I was afraid of dropping the camera.

No trip to Florida is complete without a visit to see the Boys of Summer! Here we are at the Red Sox spring training opener against the Minnesota Twins. They sure do pack them in at Twins Stadium and I was jammed up against two very large farmers from Minnesota. Minnesotans sure do love their kettle corn.

The Sox lost, but that didn't stop Noah from trying to get a 9th inning rally going much to the delight of the remaining Twins and Sox fans around us!

Proof in the pics... cont.

Jason and I actually did have our belated Valentine's Day celebration with the sunset. We had a picnic and watched the sun go down. And then got silly and took some pictures of ourselves. Jason nearly pulled a muscle taking this one!

Here is a classic Brady Bunch pose on the beach. Remember the episode when they sang on the talent show? The kids did pretty well considering they had no idea what I was talking about!

You must go shell searching while in Florida! Here Jason and Ben match up their findings to the laminated shell "map" Nana has. You mean shells actually have names?

The proof is in the pictures

Just in case anyone needed more proof that the drive, planning and effort were worth it, here's a sampling of what we did on our vacation.

The main attraction, otherwise known as Nana and Pepere. Our big outing where bathing suits were not an option... Sunday brunch. After a few quick reminders on "buffet etiquette" Noah hit the Belgian waffle chef, Alanya was a perfect lady using her manners, and Ben actually stopped darting around and sat still for once to enjoy his breakfast.

Here's the gang coming down the Lazy River! It was a little cool, but we all had a ball at the water park.

The big event here was Ben got up the courage to head up the tower and try the big slides. Once he actually did it, we could barely get him to leave. Noah finally had a buddy to ride the slides with! Alanya preferred the river and the splash area. Next year we'll get her up there.

Jason must have snapped this when I wasn't looking. My little baby is getting so big!

Florida by the numbers

After a wonderful trip to Florida, we had to race up the Eastern seaboard yesterday to try and beat a major snowstorm. We pulled in at 6:30 pm and the snow started a few hours later. We woke up to about a foot of snow and no school. Beach day to snow day in what seems like overnight. I am spending the day doing laundry, picking up and putting things away, but in the meantime... a quick "Florida by the numbers"....

1,601 - The number of miles exactly from our driveway to my parent's driveway.

26:13 - The number of hours it took us to drive straight through from New Hampshire to Florida. Actual driving time was 23:55 hours.

10 - The number of stops we needed to take on the way down. Our quickest pit stop was 6 minutes in Santee, South Carolina. For all five of us to get out of the car and get in to use a bathroom, we really can't knock much time off this. And believe me, we tried!

$230.95 - The total cost of gas for the trip.

$1.87 - The average price we paid for gas. Flagler, Florida had the most expensive at $2.09 and we paid the least, $1.77, just north of Richmond, VA. Last year we paid $3.30 a gallon in Daytona, Florida!

8 - The number of days the kids got to swim!

He's full of Blarney!

Yes, that is my darling groom kissing the Blarney Stone this past Monday when he was in Ireland on business. And the guy in the funny hat is a worker who's job it is to hold the tourists so they don't fall four stories off the castle and break their neck. What the blarney is the Blarney Stone anyway? I'll be honest, I had to look it up.

According to Wikipedia, kissing the stone in the castle that was built in 1446 will endow the kisser with the gift of great eloquence, or skill of flattery. (Hmmm... I'm not sure it was necessary for Jason to pucker up, he could talk the panties off......) And to make it even more interesting, you have to lie down and lean over backwards with someone holding onto your legs so you don't fall to your death. Sounds like a good time. Before he went I jokingly asked him to bring some wet wipes for his mouth, because that's just nasty, tourist after tourist slobbering on that thing for centuries? Funny thing was, he said there indeed was some kind of antiseptic spray and wipes there on the battlement, although he never saw anyone use it. Perhaps you have to request a clean Blarney??

He had a great time, but a very busy few days. I have to give him kudos, he returned with perfect Irish gifts for everyone. Noah received an authentic rugby shirt from the local team, Benny got a little stuffed bear wearing an Irish sweater from Blarney Castle, a little porcelain Irish doll for his little girl, and I got a gorgeous Irish wool scarf that matches my new coat. We sure did miss him, and I'm happy to be eating real dinners again!