The Mom Weekly Volume 32: March 5, 2024
Notes:
I could not love this “from the vault” more. If you would like to see a photo that I took atop Cadillac Mountain that trip, please text me and I will be happy to share it! I have a big version of the photo hanging in my office alcove. Reminder: Sir is Dad; Max is the youngest, obviously).
I was excited to see that my family motto of “everything tastes better after a hike” had its genesis here—I write here “everything tastes better after you’ve been active,” but our eventual motto is much better. I still remember how good food tasted on that trip. Do you?
Remember how much I love you,
Mom
“You have a very lively family” (July 2007)
This was the “fortune” from a fortune cookie from China Joy, probably our favorite food location in Bar Harbor, Maine, on last week’s vacation. Both Sir and I laughed and laughed when that fortune was opened; it is so true and so wonderful to have a lively crew.
Both Sir and I, and also the kids as they have been talking with their friends in the few days since we were back, have commented again and again about all the great memories we can take away from our vacation.
Traveling with kids can be very…lively. Atop Cadillac Mountain for a ranger program, little Max was extremely busy, so one or the other of us was scrambling over rocks to help him. Our excellent ranger, Anne, at one point was making a point about being environmentally conscious, and she asked, “What are things you can all do in your towns to help the environment?” One older man grumped, “Have fewer children.”
Anne frowned but didn’t know how to respond. Normally supergentle Sir turned slightly to the man and said in his mean voice (the one that frightens both children and adults), “No, no, no, no, no, no, no.” Then I said, less helpfully, I think, “No, have more children so they can grow up and help the environment.” Max was happily climbing over one of our heads at that moment.
We were happy to be on the East coast again, where we were only mistaken for our children’s grandparents once (and Bar Harbour is a small town) instead of the regular occurrences back in our little town. It seems like a little thing, and we do laugh about it, but it can be wearying to have to say, so frequently, and always with a smile, “no, these are our children.” I don’t think we really look that old! It was great to be in the flagship LLBean store in Freeport, ME, and have a dad who looked older than Sir chasing around his 5-year-old. And he WAS the dad!!
At a gas station one day, Sir comments on a beauty of a gorgeous convertible next to us, driven by a man about his age. I said, as we climbed back into our rented SUV fresh from a child’s carsickness, “Do you wish you were driving in that car instead of all of us?” And he said, “You know what I was thinking when I saw him? Poor old guy.”
Food tasted so good on this trip, I think because we were trying some new things, and also as we have made a minor family saying, “Everything tastes better after you’ve been active.” So the great things we ate after a long hike tasted better than they might otherwise have.
We enjoyed ice cream from a traditional place and also a not quite traditional place called Mt. Dessert Ice Cream. Sir loved trying mango sorbet, and ginger ice cream, etc. I was happy to stick with cookies and cream. We all agreed the chocolate chip cookies from a deli just a few blocks from our hotel were tremendous, some of the best I’ve ever had.
I am the kind of person to always want to plan, plan, plan, especially for any kind of trip; when I’ve tried to explain this to my somewhat non-planning-for-trips husband, I say that way, we can enjoy it before, during and after. I was a little concerned before we left, and a couple of times on it, that I had built it up a little too much (to me and everyone else), and it might not live up to those expectations.
But it was a super fun time, better than expected, and trying to be conscious of enjoying ourselves and our time—to live in the moment of enjoying what we were doing. That is so hard for me to do on an everyday basis. I’ve got too many “to dos” and “should haves” and “don’t forgets” running around in my head. I hope this time away helps me to live more in the present!
Interesting/notable:
The Right Way to Fight Illiberalism–Honestly Podcast
This is a very long but very fruitful and respectful discussion. Bonus: both professors quote Foucault, a philosopher G is having to study a lot recently.
Building a Pro-Life Workplace Culture With Cassie Schmidt of Ascension—Catholic Women Lead Podcast
A friend connected me with this podcast, and I happened upon this episode. Who knew Ascension had such generous and family-friendly leave policies? It’s really impressive. The podcast takes a deep dive into Ascension’s work culture. (Ascension Press produces Bible In a Year, a great resource, as well as the prayer study Dad did recently with a group at church and found … less than great, let’s just say).
What are you doing this weekend?
So, now that it’s Tuesday, what are you planning for the weekend? I’m going to suggest trying to cover four “F”s to get ideas flowing:
*faith—when are you going to Mass?
*friends—what friends will you see or connect with?
*food—any fun recipes you plan to try, or restaurants you plan to visit?
*fun—anything interesting you are going to play, watch, or do this weekend? Now’s the time to think it through, and put it on the calendar (even informally).