Friends trip


I always swore that I would graciously accept our grandchildren's preference for independence, adventure, and friends when the time came.  My children's grandmother never did. (Jeez Ada, it's adolescence, not personal! *)  They didn't need adults to play games, ride bikes, or go to the Sunriver mall anymore.  Although they still required some planning and transportation support, the annual family vacation went away and the 'friends' trip became very different. 
The kids weren't the only ones to plan a 'friends' trip.  Earl and I were going to meet our long time friends this year in Sunriver and then join Heidi and Michael at the end, thinking that, although the grandkids and their friends were teens, they were still children.  We thought the Tenisons might need some help with four kids.  Spoiler alert: They didn't.

Turned out, our friends couldn't make it. So Earl and I adjusted and joined Heidi and Michael for a laid back getaway of relaxation.  We were able to meet up with a friend for lunch.  The deer clearly knew the humans were no threat and only presented a minor annoyance.  They roamed the golf course and visited us periodically during the day. 
Having experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly on previous family vacations, we knew what was important and what wasn't**.  I'd like to say I felt bad about Heidi having to do all the 'heavy lifting' on obtaining the right house, but I didn't.  I was confident that since our mobility needs were so similar, what worked for her would work for me.  The front yard of the house was the golf course and even though Earl and I don't golf, it provided hours of entertainment.The deck even had two separate tables so the 4 kids didn't even have to eat with us.  She had arranged for a ramp up to the front door and the layout provided for teenage privacy and plenty of room for me to navigate.  

Earl and I came to realize that, as the four grandchildren matured,  they were no longer a group.  Now they were four people with different interests.  The other two grandchildren, having relocated to Seattle, turned to adventure tripping and shared their idea of fun via storytelling and pictures.  In the future, I think we're going to need more vacations to accommodate different interests and tempt them back.  We're up for it, but we'll have to bring our A game.
The lesson:  All I need to relax on vacation is an audiobook, a glass of wine...and a nap.

*Previous post:  Maintaining Contact
**Previous post:  Family Vacation 2017–The waters of Central Oregon

Comments

  1. Jacquie MoonOctober 6, 2019 at 6:40 AM

    It was hard for me to accept that my now 18 & 21 year old grandsons didn't want to go on our yearly vacation with us. I was in Ada's mode! Good for you for gracefully accepting the inevitable with your grandchildren.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We have contact

Image
Skeeter alerted me to an eyesight problem when I realized there were times when I had to navigate precisely while scooting.  I found myself dealing with my deliberate mono–vision by closing one eye in order to gauge available distance.  How much space was between Earl's car and my car, and between the telephone pole and the edge of the sidewalk?  How much asphalt before the road dropped off into dirt?  It was like my old "contact lens" days when one lens isn't in–blurry around the edge (not exactly double vision) .  Hmm, cataracts (at that time in life) , diminishing acuity (OK,  predictable... ) , Ataxia (a typical symptom for some people) ? Around 1993, I had radial keratotomy (RK) after years of wearing contact lenses or coke bottle glasses for being legally blind.  The surgeons gave me one eye for reading and one for distance (mono–vision) .  It was a good solution for someone in the 40s.  But, as I aged, the difference between the eyes was too significant.
Read more

Resume and Update

Image
It's been almost a year since I last blogged. I'd like to think that I was busy, but in fact, I was just too lazy and got overwhelmed at the thought of writing. The other issue is that not a whole lot new has happened and when friends would say, "You haven't blogged in a while," I just nodded my head and stared blankly. I thought maybe it was time to retire the blog and move on.  I mean-- geez! I started this in 2011. There are nearly 200 posts, two thirds of them after publishing my book.  How much blabbing can a person do?  However, the prospect of not being able to blab was just too much to deal with. So, I decided to dig in and update some old posts-- like, "Whatever happened to...?" or "w hatever happened after...?". Going through old posts was rewarding. I discovered that being honest has paid off in that most of my old observations were still valid.  I was relieved to know that there were few instances of "I wish I hadn't said t
Read more

East Coast Roadtrip

Image
East Coast Fall foliage It had been more than two years since we had ventured on our first roadtrip*.  It was time to move from using a walker to a wheelchair.  That was a particularly difficult humiliation bullet to bite.  I thought I had accepted the inevitability of progression, but I found myself whining, "No-o-o-o!"  Was this the end of the road before absolute immobility? Were my traveling days over?  More importantly, would I strain Earl's back and were my scooting days over? 😱 As with previous transitions, logic and practicality won out.  I was so freakin' slow with a walker. I didn't appreciate how frightening my precarious balance was to others.  Finally, I knew an injury was the bigger personal threat and was to be avoided at all costs.  Thelma and Louise ** became a permanent part of my next chapter.  Wheelchair use gave me greater mobility and freedom than I had expected.  It didn't impact my travel, scooting, and I didn't "
Read more