Mark and I stayed at an historic Bed & Breakfast in Rugby, TN whilst on vacation. We chose Rugby as our base because (1) we had passed through the town a few weeks before and discovered an AMAZING swimming hole, (2) I have a thing for historic homes, (3) the notion of no Internet access, cell-phone signals, televisions, or anything else remotely hi-tech sounded appealing, and (4) after 3 hours of searching for lodging in Big South Fork National Park yielded me exactly -nothing-, I decided it would be easier than wasting another minute of my life.
I had heard of Rugby before our little adventure with the kids a few weeks back. When we arrived at the visitor center, Forrest kept mentioning zombies. I chalked this up to (a) him being a male and therefore interested in all things creepy and (b) that he can be annoying like that. Although, in his defense, the area surrounding the building was a bit surreal. We had to walk through a small wooded lot to get to the entrance, there was a nary a soul to be seen and the little village looked frozen in time.
As I searched and searched for a place for us to rest our heads, Forrest sat across the room from me reading a book. Every now and then (usually as I muttered a less-than-lady-like word) he would offer up a word of encouragement..."have you tried searching hotel-big-south-fork"? To which I would reply "No Forrest, that combination never entered my mind, thank you for reminding why we pay the big bucks for your education". This at the two-hour thirty-five-minute mark of my search.
As I shut my computer down a few minutes later he asked if I had found anything. I replied that yes, I had booked the B&B in Rugby and that it would have to do because I was OVER searching. He says"You should call aunt Lottie (name has been changed to protect her identity) and ask her about that place".
I froze.
"Why"? I asked. But truth be told, I didn't need to ask him "why". Whatever little wisp of fog had been covering the memory of how I had become acquainted with Rugby in the first place began lifting the moment Forrest mentioned my aunt Lottie.
"To see if there are any ghosts" was his reply.
My aunt Lottie, well...how should I put this...well, she is in tune with the supernatural...and no, I don't mean the Jesus supernatural. I mean the traveling around the country, staying at haunted inns, getting in touch with the other side supernatural.
A few years ago she had mentioned that she and her husband loved visiting historic Rugby...the food at the Cafe, the restored Victorian cottages, the charming perfectly preserved library and the haunted lodging. I somehow retained all details except for that last little bit.
My voice may or may not have gone up an octave and I may or may not have shrieked at my favourite son "WHY DIDN'T YOU REMIND ME OF THAT BEFORE"???
"I did" he says...with an uplifted eyebrow and the beginning of a little smirk on his lips.
"No. You didn't". I snap back. (At which point I may or may not have taken a moment to think "how did that kid get so stinkin' cute, his smirk is adorable"). Ummm...where was I???
"Yes. I did. Remember, I kept telling you that there were Zombies in the woods. What did you think I was talking about? You think I just like to talk about zombies? I'm 15 mom, not 10".
He had a point.
It was entirely too late to cancel our reservation. I had booked the room on a last minute deal and canceling was out of the question. So, I called aunt Lottie to find out exactly what I had signed us up for. (Not that I actually believe in ghosts or anything).
After a 15 minute conversation in which I was versed in all of the best spots to see "spirits", the bet way to view "orbs" in the cemetery, which ghost was which and why it haunted that particular spot...I chalked it all up to nonsensicalness and promptly forgot about the whole ordeal.
Fast forward two weeks. We are checked into our suite in the B&B. The B&B is gorgeous and I want to build a house exactly like it.
Because I still have insomnia issues I took a ginormous swig of Nyquil before climbing into the antique double bed. Because I have dry eyes and the air conditioning was irritating my condition further, I removed my contacts. Because there was no night stand on my side of the bed, I passed my glasses to Mark who set them on the table on his side. Because I am courteous, I did not wake Mark and ask him to hand me my glasses when I awoke in the night and needed to use the facilities. Because my husband does not get out in the sun very often, he does not have a tan...in fact, he is quite white. Because my son and aunt filled my head with tales of Casper the ghost the following happened.
When I returned to the room in my drugged-blind-bat state, I saw a big white blob hovering on the other side of the bed! I jumped three feet into the air and cried "Jesus". Which caused the white blob to jump three feet in response! The blob then spoke "Good grief Destry! What is wrong with you???"
Lucky for Casper..er, Mark my gun was on the mantle far across the room. By the way, can you actually shoot a ghost?
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Summer...
This summer is absolutely FLYING by. I think the feeling is intensified by the fact that our school system switches to an year round schedule this year (which I am happy about).
It seems like each year we spend the month of June catching up on things...reading, sleeping, playing outside, swimming, eating Popsicles by the dozens, staying up to watch umpteen million Disney movies and endless Deadliest Catch reruns.
At some point, usually as we begin thinking about our 4th of July plans, it hits me..."wow summer break is half way over". Which spurs me into travel agent action. Finding day trips to fill our weekends with, searching out places that are educational as well as entertaining, booking a hotel room for our annual trek to Holiday World, finding a snatch of time that Mark and I can get away together, etc. And in all of that, knowing that I can begin dealing with "Back To School" preparations on August 1st. Except this year, those preparations must be done before August 1st.
Last year Forrest began school the first Monday in August. Preparing for that wasn't difficult or time consuming. Uniforms were bought in one place, one check was written to cover text books and the first monthly meal plan. Two reams of paper, one package of pens and another of pencils and off he went. This year, Chloe and Cammie begin school on August 3rd...and the list of school supplies for a 1st and 2nd grader is significantly longer than the list of a 1oth grader.
Beginning today, I am on a sprint to August 10th. Because on the 10th, our life will fall back into the comfortable school year rhythm. Routines will be reestablished and I'll be able to take a deep breath and know that I have a few months respite until the holiday season begins.
Until then, this is what the next three weeks hold:
-Thursday July 16...Leave for Holiday World
-Friday and Saturday...Holiday World
-Saturday night upon return...do all laundry related to trip because on
-Sunday...Forrest leaves for Georgia for his visit with Grandmother Carol in Savannah.
-Monday and Tuesday...get the house in order, grocery shop, plan for sitter
-Wednesday July 22...register Forrest for school, buy text books leave at 10 for Big South Fork National Park
-Wednesday afternoon through Saturday...relax with my husband who desperately needs a break
-Sunday...meet Carol in Atlanta to retrieve Forrest
-Monday-Thursday...school supply shopping for girls, uniform shopping for Forrest, catch up laundry, pack and CELEBRATE MY SOPHIE'S 9TH BIRTHDAY!!!
-Friday July 21st...Mark and Forrest leave with some of the guys from church to sleep on an aircraft carrier somewhere in Alabama...and I leave with all 4 of the girls to visit my best friend that moved back to Indiana (I am still in denial about that and am in no way ready to deal with the torrent of emotions that I am desperately fending off)
-Sunday...return from Indiana in time for evening services at church
-Monday...Chloe and Cammie start school
-Tuesday...catch up laundry and take Hannah shopping for cute outfits for Youth Congress
-Wednesday August 5th...CELEBRATE MS. HANNAH'S 12TH BIRTHDAY...and go to Youth Congress
-Thursday-Saturday...Youth Congress
-Monday August 10th...the day routines return to the Suffridge household
Oh, and Hannah and Sophie have been promised a bedroom makeover for their birthdays...which means painting is in my future...August 5th is my deadline, or so I am told.
Please, don't misunderstand. I am in no way complaining about how hectic the next three weeks will be. When I read back over the list, yes, I feel a little overwhelmed with the inevitable "to do" lists that go along with each bullet point... But I am also overwhelmed with thankfulness and gratitude.
My life is unbelievably full and rich. I am blessed beyond measure. There are difficulties in my life to be sure. But those problems and issues are tiny when compared to the heaping mountains that are my blessings.
I think about how blessed I am often...and I assure you, those musings are not done in a prideful fashion, but in an incredulous manner. Honestly, I question God about it on a regular basis. For the life of me, I cannot comprehend why he is so generous towards me. I am certain that I am not worthy of his favor.
When I think about the life that I lived before...the person that I was and the path that I was on... and I compare that to the life I live now, the person I am becoming and the path that is before me...there are no words.
From the tiniest aspect of my existence, the minutiae of my day to day, the mounds of laundry and the innumerable tasks involved in keeping a family of seven running...to the major aspects such as praying with someone in the altar, or watching as the 4th of our 5 children was baptized in the glorious name of Jesus, to testifying in the women's prison, I am blessed and oh so thankful.
It seems like each year we spend the month of June catching up on things...reading, sleeping, playing outside, swimming, eating Popsicles by the dozens, staying up to watch umpteen million Disney movies and endless Deadliest Catch reruns.
At some point, usually as we begin thinking about our 4th of July plans, it hits me..."wow summer break is half way over". Which spurs me into travel agent action. Finding day trips to fill our weekends with, searching out places that are educational as well as entertaining, booking a hotel room for our annual trek to Holiday World, finding a snatch of time that Mark and I can get away together, etc. And in all of that, knowing that I can begin dealing with "Back To School" preparations on August 1st. Except this year, those preparations must be done before August 1st.
Last year Forrest began school the first Monday in August. Preparing for that wasn't difficult or time consuming. Uniforms were bought in one place, one check was written to cover text books and the first monthly meal plan. Two reams of paper, one package of pens and another of pencils and off he went. This year, Chloe and Cammie begin school on August 3rd...and the list of school supplies for a 1st and 2nd grader is significantly longer than the list of a 1oth grader.
Beginning today, I am on a sprint to August 10th. Because on the 10th, our life will fall back into the comfortable school year rhythm. Routines will be reestablished and I'll be able to take a deep breath and know that I have a few months respite until the holiday season begins.
Until then, this is what the next three weeks hold:
-Thursday July 16...Leave for Holiday World
-Friday and Saturday...Holiday World
-Saturday night upon return...do all laundry related to trip because on
-Sunday...Forrest leaves for Georgia for his visit with Grandmother Carol in Savannah.
-Monday and Tuesday...get the house in order, grocery shop, plan for sitter
-Wednesday July 22...register Forrest for school, buy text books leave at 10 for Big South Fork National Park
-Wednesday afternoon through Saturday...relax with my husband who desperately needs a break
-Sunday...meet Carol in Atlanta to retrieve Forrest
-Monday-Thursday...school supply shopping for girls, uniform shopping for Forrest, catch up laundry, pack and CELEBRATE MY SOPHIE'S 9TH BIRTHDAY!!!
-Friday July 21st...Mark and Forrest leave with some of the guys from church to sleep on an aircraft carrier somewhere in Alabama...and I leave with all 4 of the girls to visit my best friend that moved back to Indiana (I am still in denial about that and am in no way ready to deal with the torrent of emotions that I am desperately fending off)
-Sunday...return from Indiana in time for evening services at church
-Monday...Chloe and Cammie start school
-Tuesday...catch up laundry and take Hannah shopping for cute outfits for Youth Congress
-Wednesday August 5th...CELEBRATE MS. HANNAH'S 12TH BIRTHDAY...and go to Youth Congress
-Thursday-Saturday...Youth Congress
-Monday August 10th...the day routines return to the Suffridge household
Oh, and Hannah and Sophie have been promised a bedroom makeover for their birthdays...which means painting is in my future...August 5th is my deadline, or so I am told.
Please, don't misunderstand. I am in no way complaining about how hectic the next three weeks will be. When I read back over the list, yes, I feel a little overwhelmed with the inevitable "to do" lists that go along with each bullet point... But I am also overwhelmed with thankfulness and gratitude.
My life is unbelievably full and rich. I am blessed beyond measure. There are difficulties in my life to be sure. But those problems and issues are tiny when compared to the heaping mountains that are my blessings.
I think about how blessed I am often...and I assure you, those musings are not done in a prideful fashion, but in an incredulous manner. Honestly, I question God about it on a regular basis. For the life of me, I cannot comprehend why he is so generous towards me. I am certain that I am not worthy of his favor.
When I think about the life that I lived before...the person that I was and the path that I was on... and I compare that to the life I live now, the person I am becoming and the path that is before me...there are no words.
From the tiniest aspect of my existence, the minutiae of my day to day, the mounds of laundry and the innumerable tasks involved in keeping a family of seven running...to the major aspects such as praying with someone in the altar, or watching as the 4th of our 5 children was baptized in the glorious name of Jesus, to testifying in the women's prison, I am blessed and oh so thankful.
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