You Go Gain-y

We spent last weekend in Deep Creek, MD. I love to travel the Midwest this time of year to soak up some of the fall color, be outside and just breathe. Fall is my favorite season and I can't get enough of the vibrant, bold colors of the leaves, grass and cooler, deeper azure blue of the sky. Of course, I had visions of long walks in the woods (et al) and roasting hot dogs over the fire, but I should learn to quit envisioning how I think things should be and just appreciate them for what they are. Still, I found myself wishing we could all just "be" in the moment.

We all have different ideas of what will make us happy and it usually includes a few unspoken ... if onlys. "If only I had more money. If only we could do this or that. If only we had more time. If only candidate X would win the election, everything would be perfect." So, of course, contentment remains elusive.

On the way to MD, we stopped at the beautiful Youghiogheny overlook. I was thinking, had I interpreted this beautiful name with a crude phonetic pronunciation like "You-Go-Gainy" on Friday, then I might have sensed a little foreshadowing of the attitude-du-weekend. Seems like we (and I'm referring to my little family only, here) had this attitude that --- because we were in this affluent area of many people's second/third vacation homes ... we somehow deserve something like this too. (Never mind that we had to pack a cooler of food and charge the gas to even get there.)

So instead of enjoying, we were complaining about what we don't have. I think the mounting frustration over our lack of money and doom-and-gloom national economy had been building. The media's total immersion of political pea soup of late (and T's overdose of late night talk radio) haven't been helping.

So, in hindsight (and regret) for my whiny-ness, I think it's important to note what I did "gainy" this weekend:

• Some much needed family time together
  
• One really nice walk in the woods with T and one to the lake with K


• The ability to visit this breathtaking part of the country


• A free place to stay (courtesy of Genie B and friends)


• The opportunity to take some great pictures
  
• A really nice dinner out (also courtesy of Genie B)


• Time to watch favorite old classic movies like "Peyton Place" on cable from the luxury of a big, comfy bed
  
• The chance to see some gorgeous homes
  
• Inspiration for my dreams


• Time to discover cool new places like Schoolhouse Earth (separate post to come on this)


• Some time with my little Peeps & Sissy


• Some quiet, rest and relaxation (and time to read two entire magazines!)

Sooooo... the moral to this post? I'm assigning a new mantra to my subconscious: "You HAVE gainy-d."

Wish U Were Here

"If you'll be my bodyguard ..." Paul Simon's music fades in and out over the sound of kids splashing in the pool. The piped-in music (coming from rock-looking landscape speakers) is stereo surrounding me as I float in the pool on my back looking up at the palm treas. Oops. I meant to type trees, but I'm in vacation-mind mode where thinking about anything more than lunch or when to apply my next spray of sunscreen is an effort. What day is this?

I'm watching the clouds float by above me, sounds muffled because my ears are below the water. I wonder how long a human could stay like this.

The view from my beach chair is great too. A peaceful seascape full of every color in the aqua spectrum running into the peaches, apricots and golds. I think this is one of the things I miss most about those long winter months up north ... these Florida colors.

We girls spend the day here, poolside. The boys are watching movies and playing Xbox in the condo. I'm engrossed in Kelly Corrigan's The Middle Place, partly because a new writer friend told me recently that my writing style reminds me of Kelly's (wow--what a compliment!) but mostly because Kelly's story makes me feel like I'm listening to a friend.

Later in the day, we go out to a local Italian place where the waitress scrunches her face at our high-maintenance Midwest requests for things "on the side" (like she's trying to make out another language) and pronounces Minestrone soup as "minn-a-strone." Note to self: look up the authentic pronunciation. Then we go shopping to the outlet mall where everyone comes away happy. Starbucks for dessert. Practically perfect day.

As Shangra-La-like as this sounds, I think the boys have had enough and are missing the familiarities of home. I'm missing T. It's wierd to be here without him, but the new grandbaby did arrive Monday (healthy and strong) and he was able to hold her last night which probably made staying home worth it. I miss Petey-the-poodle (and he misses me, according to Tom.) I hear Pete is spending his days moping in his cage. I also miss my bed. I don't miss the bills or dealing with the other bad news that rolls into our lives, but even here I can't escape it. T tells me about a niece that's in trouble. I resolve to resume my prayers--no excuse to have vacationed from that.

Top 10 Disney Memories--Po No Flo 2008

10) Overnight stay at a Disney World resort! Sooz surprised us by upgrading our original day trip plan! The best part was her enthusiasm. She LOVES this place, and wants to share every inch of it with everyone.

9) Special Magic Hours. As resort guests, we were able to stay an extra three hours after the official closing of the Magic Kingdom! No waiting in lines for the best rides! No crowds! No blistering heat! We didn’t get back to the hotel until almost 3 a.m. If it wasn’t for a late-night adventure through Splash Mountain, I would’ve nodded off around 1 a.m. But, no worries. No one could be sleepy after getting hit with 20 gallons of cold water. (Why were we always the only ones in the boat to GET SOAKED?! And whose idea was it to take pictures of the guests while they are getting hit with the water? No, I don’t want to purchase that one, thank you.)

8) Lounging at the guitar-shaped pool this morning and being surrounded by all those different languages. It’s so cool to be smack dab in the middle of a place that truly draws visitors from around the world for this unique experience. No melting pot, here. It’s like being part of a big, delicious tossed salad (as LB calls it)! I noticed that the path (Route 4) to Disney was littered periodically with cars that had broken down. It strikes me that this place is something that nearly everyone would like to experience—"Disney or Bust!" (Go tourism!)

7) Walking through the Boardwalk Resort (just to see it) and hearing “Welcome Home!” from two different employees there. (Where do I sign up for a master class in marketing by the Disney folks? These people do not miss a beat. Not one.) By the way, of all the hotels I’ve seen here—the Boardwalk really does feel like my kinda home.

6) Lunch at ESPN with the boys. I’m wondering if everyone who works there is required to have some kind of coaching experience? Seems like a sporty bunch. Fun. (And surprisingly good food.)

5) A Dream and a free dessert. Somehow the funnel cake booth cash register was shut down/off between when Sooz ordered and when they delivered. They gave it (and a diet Coke) to her with their compliments. “This really IS a place of a thousand dreams!” she said.

4) Going on the Haunted Mansion ride (twice) with the boys. (And watching them run back for one-more-time on their own.) This attraction is my fav and I love that they loved it! I like the Gothic maid and butler costumes and grim faces of the young employees—(and their directions to “step to the dead center of the room”). I love the architecture of the building, the horseless-drawn herse parked in front, the dark Edwardian décor, the superimposed animated ghosts on statues, the dancing spirits, the hand shadow of the skeleton pianist and the hologram face of the tiny figurine that bids you “farewell.”

3) Krispie-treats shaped like mouse ears (and dipped in chocolate). These were so cute! I also noticed that you can have pizza for breakfast, hot dogs at 3 a.m. or pretty much anything you want at any time of the day or night. (Wasn’t this a theme for the “bad boys” in the Pinocchio story?) So much for that weight I lost last month.

2) Magic Fireworks! We learned (upon arrival) that we were going to be privy to the “unveiling” of the all-new, never-seen-before Independence Day fireworks display. After a long wait, we (and about a million others) were absolutely WOW’d with a choreographed multi-media fireworks presentation that was unlike anything we’d ever seen. Cinderella’s castle was covered in dancing red, white and blue stars and stripes; fireworks exploded in rhythm to the music—shaped like hearts, stars, and Mickey-ears. Standing on the bridge to Tomorrowland, we were surrounded by rockets shooting up from all around us. We were part of the show! Unbelievable!

1) When you wish upon a star. As the crowd went wild with applause following the fireworks and headed to the gate, we headed back into the park for our extra magic hours. We took a short cut through the “Garden of Roses” next to Cinderella’s castle and passed a young man, down on one knee, holding the hand of his sweetheart and proposing to her there. She was crying. Her night of a thousand dreams was ours, too.
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Note to self: Save money to stay (at least one night) at the Boardwalk in the next year or so. With its turn-of-the-century décor and music, it’s so very, very Past Perfect.

Note to the girls at the office: Since we’ve already pushed the final weigh-in of our “Biggest Looser” contest back twice, I’m thinking that you won’t mind if I suggest we shoot for Labor Day?? C U soon.