It's family vacation time. This time of year my daughter Ariel has vacation time she must use by the end of the year. My son, Ben Jr, and his family have regularly vacationed Christmas week because the church he pastored met on a community college campus that would close for the holiday season. Lastly, Sarah is a stay at home mom since Calvin was born and is always game for a trip.
The plan was made by Ben Jr. to vacation at the family home in the North Carolina mountains and he extended the invitation to the rest of the family. Everyone jumped on board and I convinced mom to go with them. I would stay home to water the dogs, guard the house and corral Gran-tula. (With my dialysis requirements I couldn't risk getting down there and getting snowed or iced in and not be able to get to the clinic.)
They had all planned to leave Sunday morning but a death in my son's in laws dictated that they couldn't leave until this morning. He and his van left at 4:30am and the rest left at 9:00am. After all, some people are built for speed and others are built for comfort and the ladies of my house are certainly built for comfort.
It's normally an 8 hour drive but since both vans had children as young at 6 months it takes longer. Add to that the Christmas blizzard that just swept up the coast and it made for an interesting ride. But the cherry on top was getting there and not being able to get up the hill into the neighborhood. The street had been plowed but apparently thawed, froze, etc. and became a sheet of ice.
After several unsuccessful attempts at driving in they parked at the bottom of the hill, bundled up the 4 children, grabbed a few necessities and struck out on an "adventure". Ben called me when they got in the house to say they had made it in and were safe. In the background I could hear the 3 year old screaming like she was dying. I knew immediately the bear had her. Ellie is not fond of animals to say the least and we have a 3 foot tall stuffed bear that stands by the staircase. I think she had just discovered the bear.
I gave them a little time then I called back to see how they were making out. Ben and his nephew Dillon were outside shoveling snow. I talked to Sydney and asked her about her adventure and she was having a great time. I told her that as the big sister she had to help encourage Ellie in her new surroundings. She said "I know. I told her about the bear and I told her about the deer head downstairs on the wall but now Ellie won't go downstairs."
As I write this the women are still about an hour away preparing their hearts and minds for their own "adventure". My wife can't stand up on dry hard ground in the winter time let alone an ice covered hill. It's going to be interesting. I can't wait to hear the "next chapter" in this saga.
