Our kids left Friday afternoon for a fall retreat at church and didn’t returtil today. All five kids, because God is a good, good God and so He provided for the college retreat to be the same weekend as the high school one (and we praise Him, from Whom all blessings flow, especially the kind that arrange for all five kids to vacate the house at the same time). Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids, but if anybody is going to be gone, it’s best if all are so that we are... you know... FREE. No thought of dinner plans, come and go as we please, lay in bed if we want or stay up late in the tv room if we want, no one banging around early on a Saturday, no one to drop off or pick up anywhere... just freedoms and us.
Anyway, we had talked about possibly going somewhere this weekend and ended up deciding we would likely enjoy even more just having a quiet house. {I realize it makes us sound like high school kids whose parents are gone, and I can’t explain the phenomenon, but Friday night we are out (and only paid for two meals!) and got our dessert to go and I literally said giddily to Kraig, “We can eat it in bed while we watch a movie!!!” Hahaha!} Anyway, we puttered around Friday night on our own time frame and it was awesome.
For Saturday, I asked him earlier in the week if he wanted to drive around and look at leaves, see waterfalls, walk around outside, etc.. I had considered a couple of routes and when I mentioned Murphy, Kraig said he could go to the casino. I hate casinos because of the cigarette smoke, but I told him I would love time to sit in the car and read.
We have never driven around to look at leaves before. We aren’t the people who drive up to the Smokies just to do it, who go looking for snow, etc.. If we are in the car, it’s to go somewhere. I’m always envious of the people who DO, though. And the thought of spending a day driving and looking with Kraig, talking with no interruptions, sounded awesome to me. We even decided to take the dog, and it was seriously shaping up to be the kind of day I dream of.
I had planned for ya to drive to Tellico and see a waterfall I have been wanting to see, take the Cherohala Skyway over to Robbinsville, then come down through Andrews to get to Murphy, stopping when we wanted. At the last minute, Kraig mentioned the orchards in Blue Ridge, so we decided to come back that way. When we pulled out from this house, I was feeling like the kind of person I always dreamed of.
As we left Etowah and neared Tellico, I was realizing why I am not and never will be that kind of person. As we came within 7 miles of the waterfall and I was sick as a dog, praying for God to blast the trumpet and take us home, I told Kraig this was a horrible mistake. In fact, I had a few moments of bordering on panic, knowing that the only way BACK was the way we were coming IN.
We made it to the waterfall and spent some time looking and climbing around to the bottom of it from the road. My land legs came back fast, thankfully. However, I knew from looking at the map that the route to Robbinsville via the Cherohala was not going to be possible for me. I rerouted is straight to Murphy, then I reclined my seat and drooled through a restless sleep most of the way, praying every time I woke that I wouldn’t get sick.
We are a wonderful lunch in Murphy, I read almost a whole book in the car while Kraig supported the Cherokees, and then we drove back home. We didn’t have time to go to Blue Ridge, but it was still a great day. Last night we watched some tv and I did some decorating before bed.
We decided that we are going to enjoy our kids for the next four years or so, but that we are going to be SO GOOD at empty nesting. As long as it doesn’t include driving curvy roads in the mountains.
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