Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained!
We had to leave our vacation a couple of days early, due to the impending hurricane that is heading for the East Coast. That was kind of a bummer, but better safe than sorry. I thought that Soren would be very sad about leaving, but he really did understand. As soon as we got home, he said, 'It feels so good to be home! That was the best vacation!'
Once again, my older son has reminded me to focus on the positive. I don't think it's a conscious choice for him. I think he really just sees the best things about any situation. However, when I really thought about it, he was right. It does feel good to be home and that was the best vacation we've ever had, as a family. We did lots of activities, we got to go to the beach a few times (when it wasn't too windy or rainy) and we got to go to lots of restaurants. I even got to go to a spa for a massage, all by myself!
We were traveling via car, which meant we could come and go as we pleased. It also meant that we could bring our little potty chair with us and do bathroom breaks wherever we needed to do them. (This is a major benefit when traveling with a recently potty-trained person.) The boys were good in the car. What's not to like? They are a little spoiled when it comes to travel. They have an iPad, DVD player, books, toys, snacks, drinks, etc. We have a big SUV with all the comforts of home. In my day, we had some travel games and a pillow in our Plymouth Reliant. We sang songs when we couldn't find a radio station and tried to sleep as much as possible. It was boring, but we were just excited to go on vacation. My parents were good about making stops along the way that we would find fun or interesting. Kids always need to stop for restroom breaks... a lot. On the way to Virginia Beach (which should be a 9 hour drive), we stopped every hour. It took us 11.5 hours to reach our hotel. On the way home, we only stopped 3 times and made it in 9 hours. The boys are really becoming good travelers. This will be crucial when we make our first overseas trip in April.
I know it's ridiculous, but I can't stop thinking about our next vacation. We're going to Iceland and Scotland in April. The boys have never been there. I've never been to Iceland and neither has my husband. We are so fortunate to have dear friends in Scotland. They've invited us to their favorite place, which happens to be a beautiful resort on Loch Lomond. I've truly never been more excited about any vacation in my life. I've been to Scotland, Ireland, England and France with my husband 6 years ago. Scotland was, by far, my absolute favorite. As in, I didn't want to leave and we hope to retire there one of these days. I'm just thrilled to show this gorgeous country to my boys and to explore more than we were able to during our one night stay in Edinburgh. More importantly, I'm so happy we will spend an entire week with an amazing couple. I've actually only met Peter and Corinne Foster on a few occasions. Peter came to our wedding in 2008. I was introduced to him, by my father-in-law at our rehearsal dinner. The first thing he said to me was, 'My God! You are stunning!' I liked him right away. Can't imagine why.
I met Corinne when we were in London in 2009. She and Peter took us to fantastic restaurant on our first night in the city. They truly saved the trip for me. I was in my first trimester of pregnancy with our first baby and I had walked up 200 steps (instead of waiting for the lift, which my husband tried to convince me to do) from the tube when we got to our stop. My ankles were swollen, my stomach was queasy and I was an emotional wreck. That all changed when we got to the restaurant. We fell into an instant rapport and I truly felt as if I'd met a kindred spirit in Corinne. She's a writer, a mother of two boys and she's brilliant and funny. Her husband reminds me so much of my dad (due to personality, not age!) that I felt we were with family. That's a good feeling to have when you're overseas and pregnant for the first time. We spent hours over an exquisite meal, complete with some fine glasses of very expensive wine. Yes, I drank wine during my pregnancy. It's not a big deal in the UK. These are my people!
Peter also met us in Edinburgh on that trip and took us to another great pub and restaurant. Again, we had a fabulous time, great conversation and my spirits were lifted. I really think our trip would have been entirely different, had it not been for those two evenings with the Fosters.
Since then, we've only seen the Fosters once. They flew all the way from the UK to go to my husband's music festival, Bunbury. I had them over for brunch the first day and Soren absolutely loved them, too. He was 3 and Peter carried him around at the festival and took him down to the front of the main stage to throw balloons into the audience. I was able to hang out in the VIP tent with Corinne and my parents and knew Peter wouldn't let Soren get into too much trouble. Heavenly.
After that year, Corinne published her first book, 'The Secret of the Phoon.' I read it immediately and wrote a review on Amazon. Corinne and I keep in touch quite often via Facebook and she's honored me by asking me to read her second book and to help her write the summary for the publishers. I wasn't as helpful as I wanted to be, but I tried to encourage and assist as best I could. I'm simply in awe and beyond impressed with her writing and the fact that she's had the courage to publish. As a person who would like to be a published author, I know this is no easy task. Writers, by nature, are so weird. We love to write. We're compelled to write. But, sometimes we're afraid to share our work with the world. I know that's true, for me. This blog has been my first attempt at connecting with an audience wider than that of my family and close friends. It's safe and easy, so it's a great first step. However, I'm ready to try to publish all the poetry and children's books that are just sitting on my hard drive, gathering metaphorical dust.
It's time to jump into the deep end. I can swim. It will be ok. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Once again, my older son has reminded me to focus on the positive. I don't think it's a conscious choice for him. I think he really just sees the best things about any situation. However, when I really thought about it, he was right. It does feel good to be home and that was the best vacation we've ever had, as a family. We did lots of activities, we got to go to the beach a few times (when it wasn't too windy or rainy) and we got to go to lots of restaurants. I even got to go to a spa for a massage, all by myself!
We were traveling via car, which meant we could come and go as we pleased. It also meant that we could bring our little potty chair with us and do bathroom breaks wherever we needed to do them. (This is a major benefit when traveling with a recently potty-trained person.) The boys were good in the car. What's not to like? They are a little spoiled when it comes to travel. They have an iPad, DVD player, books, toys, snacks, drinks, etc. We have a big SUV with all the comforts of home. In my day, we had some travel games and a pillow in our Plymouth Reliant. We sang songs when we couldn't find a radio station and tried to sleep as much as possible. It was boring, but we were just excited to go on vacation. My parents were good about making stops along the way that we would find fun or interesting. Kids always need to stop for restroom breaks... a lot. On the way to Virginia Beach (which should be a 9 hour drive), we stopped every hour. It took us 11.5 hours to reach our hotel. On the way home, we only stopped 3 times and made it in 9 hours. The boys are really becoming good travelers. This will be crucial when we make our first overseas trip in April.
I know it's ridiculous, but I can't stop thinking about our next vacation. We're going to Iceland and Scotland in April. The boys have never been there. I've never been to Iceland and neither has my husband. We are so fortunate to have dear friends in Scotland. They've invited us to their favorite place, which happens to be a beautiful resort on Loch Lomond. I've truly never been more excited about any vacation in my life. I've been to Scotland, Ireland, England and France with my husband 6 years ago. Scotland was, by far, my absolute favorite. As in, I didn't want to leave and we hope to retire there one of these days. I'm just thrilled to show this gorgeous country to my boys and to explore more than we were able to during our one night stay in Edinburgh. More importantly, I'm so happy we will spend an entire week with an amazing couple. I've actually only met Peter and Corinne Foster on a few occasions. Peter came to our wedding in 2008. I was introduced to him, by my father-in-law at our rehearsal dinner. The first thing he said to me was, 'My God! You are stunning!' I liked him right away. Can't imagine why.
I met Corinne when we were in London in 2009. She and Peter took us to fantastic restaurant on our first night in the city. They truly saved the trip for me. I was in my first trimester of pregnancy with our first baby and I had walked up 200 steps (instead of waiting for the lift, which my husband tried to convince me to do) from the tube when we got to our stop. My ankles were swollen, my stomach was queasy and I was an emotional wreck. That all changed when we got to the restaurant. We fell into an instant rapport and I truly felt as if I'd met a kindred spirit in Corinne. She's a writer, a mother of two boys and she's brilliant and funny. Her husband reminds me so much of my dad (due to personality, not age!) that I felt we were with family. That's a good feeling to have when you're overseas and pregnant for the first time. We spent hours over an exquisite meal, complete with some fine glasses of very expensive wine. Yes, I drank wine during my pregnancy. It's not a big deal in the UK. These are my people!
Peter also met us in Edinburgh on that trip and took us to another great pub and restaurant. Again, we had a fabulous time, great conversation and my spirits were lifted. I really think our trip would have been entirely different, had it not been for those two evenings with the Fosters.
Since then, we've only seen the Fosters once. They flew all the way from the UK to go to my husband's music festival, Bunbury. I had them over for brunch the first day and Soren absolutely loved them, too. He was 3 and Peter carried him around at the festival and took him down to the front of the main stage to throw balloons into the audience. I was able to hang out in the VIP tent with Corinne and my parents and knew Peter wouldn't let Soren get into too much trouble. Heavenly.
After that year, Corinne published her first book, 'The Secret of the Phoon.' I read it immediately and wrote a review on Amazon. Corinne and I keep in touch quite often via Facebook and she's honored me by asking me to read her second book and to help her write the summary for the publishers. I wasn't as helpful as I wanted to be, but I tried to encourage and assist as best I could. I'm simply in awe and beyond impressed with her writing and the fact that she's had the courage to publish. As a person who would like to be a published author, I know this is no easy task. Writers, by nature, are so weird. We love to write. We're compelled to write. But, sometimes we're afraid to share our work with the world. I know that's true, for me. This blog has been my first attempt at connecting with an audience wider than that of my family and close friends. It's safe and easy, so it's a great first step. However, I'm ready to try to publish all the poetry and children's books that are just sitting on my hard drive, gathering metaphorical dust.
It's time to jump into the deep end. I can swim. It will be ok. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
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