Holidays at Home and Away

For the first time in many years we spent Christmas away from home this year. Jennifer had vacation she needed to use up this year and, somewhat to her surprise, when she requested the week of Christmas off she got it. She didn’t have the 31^st of December off so we were back in Weymouth for New Year’s Day.

We hit the road on Saturday, December 22^nd. I must have been too excited to sleep because I awoke at 2:00 am. When I found that Jennifer was also awake we decided to hit the road early. We’d been planning to get up around 4:00 and leave before dawn to reach my parents’ home in Indiana in one long day on the road. Our bags were packed and the car mostly loaded. We were on the highway by 2:15. Dawn found us in Pennsylvania and nightfall found us in Western Ohio. By supper time we were at my parents’ home near Indianapolis.

It was very good to spend the holiday with my folks, not only my parents but my sister Marcia as well. We didn’t do much while we were there but sit around my parents’ family room. We talked. We read A Christmas Carole out loud, which we do every year at our house. Maura played Just Dance on the Wii with her Aunt Marcia. We ate lots of good food.

We did get out of the house a few times. We went out to eat. On Christmas Eve we went to church. It was the first time I’d ever been to my parents’ church. Jennifer and Maura also came, though they could have stayed home if they had chosen too. It must have been a bit strange for Maura though. I love going to church on Christmas Eve. The service is always joyous and peaceful.

My parents had made other plans but they were disrupted by the weather. On December 26^th the Indianapolis area was hit by a blizzard. The seven inches of snow that fell was not much by New England standards but high winds define a blizzard and the roads were dangerous most of the day and there was plenty of reason to stay home.  Two trips out were necessary. My parents’ beloved but aging cat Chelsea was sick and had to go to the vet. She had to be sedated to examine and treat her and she died unexpectedly when she was waking up after my parents had gone back to bring her home. I think it was a good thing that we were there. Having her granddaughter around made the loss easier on my mother.

On Friday to we all went to a movie. Everyone needed to get out of the house for a while. We saw Les Mis. Maura really wanted to see it and everyone enjoyed the show. I’ve been whistling tunes from it ever since. I was impressed that they were able to find enough actors who could sing well enough to do their roles justice. They didn’t cast anyone in the movie who couldn’t.

On Saturday we left for home. We waited until after breakfast to leave. It’s not as easy to leave before dawn when we are heading home and we take two days on the return trip. While we were driving eastward it was snowing ahead of us, so the road conditions were not always good but we avoided the worst of the weather and made it home by mid-afternoon on Sunday.

Jennifer had to work on Monday while Maura and I ran errands to prepare for the holiday. We spent New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day at home, just the three of us. We had a dinner of homemade appetizers and spent the evening watching Xena Warrior Princess on Netflix and playing Munchkin using the new cards Maura got for holiday gifts this year. At midnight we watched the ball drop on TV and then we all went to bed. New Year’s Day was more relaxing at home. I took the time during the day to write down some New Year’s resolutions—which was the first step to keeping one of them. I plan on keeping a journal this year. Time will tell how far I get.

Some Time Apart

When my parents headed for home last week they took Maura with them. It has become a tradition in our family for my parents to take Maura for a week or so during the summer. They’ve taken her on vacation to Maine in the past but most often they take her home to Indiana. They have her there until next weekend.

Maura always has a great time in Indiana. My parents take her lots of places when she is visiting. On this trip they’ve been to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum, the Indiana History Museum and my parents’ lake house where they went out in their boat. Today they are going to the zoo. They also take her out to eat. Last night they went out for Brazilian food, which Maura loves.

More important than the places Maura goes is the time that she spends with her grandparents and with her Aunt Marcia. She sees my parents three or four times a year and my sister less often than that. Maura’s summer trips to Indiana give her a chance to get to know them she wouldn’t have otherwise. She’ll have memories of her grandparents and her aunt when she is an adult which will be part of who she is.

As important and enjoyable as Maura’s trips to visit her grandparents are for her they are also a treat for Jennifer and me. We know that she is being well taken care of so we can relax and not worry about her while she is gone. Our daily lives of work and chores go on but without the complications of parenthood. Dad’s taxi stays in the driveway. Jennifer and I can have adult conversations without interruption and we don’t have to worry about Maura walking in on us at inopportune moments. It is especially nice because our wedding anniversary is this week. We can celebrate without the need to make arrangements for Maura.

We miss Maura and will be glad to have her back. Talking to her on the phone every night is not a substitute for having her around. I feel bad for people whose jobs require them to be away from their children for long periods of time but because Maura is gone only for a little while we can enjoy her absence without any guilt.

The End of Our Vacation

This weekend was the end of our vacation in Indiana. We had to cut it a day short in order to get our home ready for Hurricane Irene and to avoid driving through the storm. As it was we drove through some of the outermost rain bands on Saturday afternoon and ran into a traffic jam on Interstate 95 around Boston because all but one lane of the highway had been closed by flooding. That was the worst of the storm for us. We got home before the wind arrived and I was able to bring in the trash cans and lawn furniture before they blew away. Most of our town lost power during the storm but not us. I’m glad we left Indiana early. Crossing Upstate New York on Sunday would have been a dangerous nightmare and we probably would have stayed away until the roads were safe.

Our final days in Indiana were some of the best but they were not busy days. We spent them at my parents’ weekend home on Lake Monroe, near Bloomington, Indiana. We had time to relax, read, nap in the hammock and talk. Maura’s grandfather took her fishing and she caught a catfish. We saw a deer cross the back yard and watched hummingbirds buzz around the hummingbird feeders like a swarm of feathered bees.

Maura’s grandparents took her back to Zionsville on Thursday and let Jennifer and I have the lake house to ourselves for another day to celebrate our wedding anniversary (it was actually on Sunday). While Maura spent one last day with her grandparents we spent a wonderful day without her. We spent the morning exploring the shops and galleries of Nashville, Indiana, and had lunch at the Big Woods Brewery (the Pale Ale was wonderful and the food wasn’t bad either). Afterwards we hiked in nearby Brown County State Park. The terrain was rugged, green and beautiful and the hike felt great after a week with not enough exercise. We saw toads and a snake sunning itself on the trail but very few people, though the park is popular and much busier on weekends.

On Friday morning we drove back to Zionsville, picked up Maura and hit the highway. It was a long trip and we took two days. Maura was good in the car. She had plenty to read and is happy with her nose in a book. We aren’t fans of the New York State Thruway so we took the southern route across New York--Interstate 86 to Binghamton and 88 to Albany before picking up 90 to Boston and home. We had one disappointment on the way. On Sunday morning we’d planned to have our breakfast at the Unadilla Diner.  Jennifer and I had often stopped when we were on the road during our college days. We wanted to take Maura there because the last time we’d passed that way she was too young to remember it. We found that it had closed and it was for sale. It was a small note of sadness in what was a very happy trip.

Vacation in Indiana

This week Jennifer, Maura and I are in Indiana, visiting my parents. Jennifer and I arrived on Thursday evening, after a very long day in the car. Maura travelled with her grandparents a week ago. We’ve been staying in Zionsville, just to the north of Indianapolis and within its metropolitan area. Much of our time has been spent enjoying the company of our family but we’ve found the time to explore two of Indianapolis’s excellent museums.

On Friday we visited the Eiteljorg Museum, which showcases extensive collections of Western and Native American art. The western collection includes many works by artists who worked at the Taos artist colony and also sculpture and paintings by Frederick Remington and C. M. Russell. The Native American collection includes traditional pieces arranged by tribe and region but also contemporary works by Native American artists, some of which are far from traditional. In the museum’s lower level is an interactive children’s exhibit. It focuses on the history of the western United States and engaged Maura for hours. Maura might have enjoyed having some other children around but for the adults in the group it was nice that the exhibit was nearly deserted. Unlike in Massachusetts, schools are now in session in Indiana but it is too early in the school year for field trips.

The lack of most school age children worked to our benefit on Monday when we visited the Indianapolis Children’s Museum. The Indianapolis Children’s Museum is without a doubt one of the premier children’s museums in the world. When we visited it was not crowded but it is a fun day even when it is. They have a wide variety of exhibits on four floors with topics ranging from science to toys, centered around a three story high tower of Dale Chihuly glass forms. The exhibits include a wide range of interactive elements to appeal to children of all ages but they are also very adult friendly, so much so that the Children’s Museum is worth a visit even for adults unaccompanied by children. Anyone visiting Indianapolis with youngsters should make a point of visiting. Highlights of this trip’s visit include our visit to the Dinosphere, which displays dinosaur fossils, the new National Geographic Treasures of the Earth exhibit which covers archaeology, Take Me There: Egypt, exploring modern Egypt and the restored carousel which once stood in an Indianapolis park but now delights museum goers. Maura also greatly enjoyed the temporary Barbie exhibit which spotlights the history of Barbie dolls and the fashions that have inspired and been inspired by her wardrobe. We visit the Children’s Museum every time we come to Indianapolis with Maura and it’s always a fun and educational day.

The Great Road Trip

This year our summer vacation was a visit to my family in Indiana. Because of moderate gas prices this summer we chose to drive. It made for a long and tiring journey in both directions but the vacation was everything I wanted it to be. We enjoyed the company of my parents and my sister Marcia and had a wonderfully fun and relaxing time. Our time in Indiana was divided between my parents’ home in Zionsville, just north of Indianapolis, and their vacation home on Lake Monroe, in the south central part of the state. When Jennifer and I had to head home we left Maura behind to spend an extra week with her grandparents.

We left at eleven o’clock on Saturday night, the end of my shift at Borders. Our plan was to drive overnight, avoiding traffic and as much as possible avoiding having to deal with a bored six-year-old. We figured that driving through the darkness would encourage Maura to sleep for a good part of the trip. The plan worked. Jennifer and I shared the driving, sleeping when we were not behind the wheel, and we all arrived safely in Zionsville tired but with our sanity intact.

Our stay in the Indianapolis area was very enjoyable. We went to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum were we saw the Tutankhamen and the Great Pharaohs of Egypt exhibition. I found it fascinating and could have spent all day in the exhibition but I think Maura enjoyed the time we spent in the permanent collections of the museum more. The Indianapolis Children’s Museum is a wonder and worth a visit for anyone visiting Indianapolis, with our without children.

The other highlight of our time in Zionsville was attending an Indianapolis Indians game. The Indians are Indianapolis’s AAA minor league baseball team. We got rained on and the home team didn’t win but it was still fun to sit in the stands and root for them. Victory Park, where the Indians play, is a great place to catch a game. The stadium is intimate and friendly, the ticket prices are reasonable and the level of play, though not up to major league standards, is still thoroughly professional.

On Thursday we took a side trip down to King's Island, an amusement park in Ohio, not far from Cincinnati. It was a fun trip, though a long day. Maura loves rides and at King’s Island she added roller coasters, which she had been avoiding, to her list of favorites. Maura often has to be coaxed onto rides, but once she’s on them the wilder they are the more fun she has. While we were at King’s Island we were able to see our friend Sean and his family. Sean moved to Ohio two years ago and we don’t often get to see him now. The chance to spend a few hours catching up with an old friend made a fun day even better.

On Friday we drove down to my parents’ house on Lake Monroe. A trip to the lake house is always a highlight of any visit to Indiana. The house is on a wooded hillside overlooking the quiet end of the lake. There are neighbors but they do little to disturb the tranquility of the place. There is nothing more relaxing than sitting on the large porch overlooking the lake watching the hummingbirds buzz around the feeders like feathered bees, then watching the fireflies rise into the treetops once the sun goes down.

The end of the trip was bittersweet. We said goodbye to Maura and my parents before getting in the car for our long drive home. She spent another week with her grandparents. Jennifer and I both missed Maura but it was nice to spend time alone together. The drive home was pleasant though long. We were lucky enough to witness a natural wonder as we made our way through western Pennsylvania. A rain shower in partial sunshine produced a perfect double rainbow to cheer us on our way.