I used to be super brave! I would stay in hostels in Europe and organize strangers we
would meet for social outings. I
would fly with my flight attendant friend to ski in Colorado for a couple days
and then red eye it to NY for the weekend, operating on no sleep. Well, 20 years of marriage &
5 Wogs have made me insecure in my brave abilities. I recently had to step it up and be brave on Bubba’s
Washington DC when we left our tour group and rode taxi’s & subways to go
to a Heat/Wizards game. It took my
friends pumping me up and also using their mapping skills for me to attempt it!
When I arrived safely back at the
hotel with Bubba, I did indeed feel like a freakin’ rock star and was proud of
myself for being strong or at least acting like it for my son's sake!!
I was on the phone with my mom and she was telling me about
her friend who was going to the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina with her
grandchildren. I suddenly felt a
sadness enter my heart. This was
going to be the THIRD summer we didn’t get to the mountains and I just felt
sick about it. My entire life I
have gone to the mountains almost every year and had managed to keep the
tradition alive for the Wog kids.
Well, then my kids had to get all awesome and busy. All their MANDATORY activities,
overlapped with each other making it nearly impossible for us to find a string
of days off at one time. If by
chance we could find a few days in row, Dan couldn’t take off from work…Waaa,
Waaa, Waaa.
I told my mom how much I wanted to get away from the heat
and go back to the mountains (where I am sure God lives!). My mom said, “Well Honey, why don’t you
and I take the kids. I have driven
up there before by myself.” Mom
said there was crazy dead air space on the phone. My overactive brain, kicked into high gear, processing the idea. “Could I do it, and not kill the kids
with my driving?” “Would it be any
fun being the only parent in charge of five kids?” You get the idea what was going on in my brain. I told my mom I would really think
about it and see if we could make it work
I texted Dan and asked what day and time Bubba had his first football
practice, found out when the YouthQuake Live retreat was and was actually
getting a little excited about the possibility. I was shocked that Dan didn’t freak out and even said for me
to leave the dog home!!
YIPPPEEE!! Sometimes you
just need a dog vacation!
The thing that was plaguing me was staying at the cabin we
always stay at. It’s very rustic
in the most drastic way…it has an outhouse. Typically Dan spends a whole day working to make it
inhabitable, cleaning up rodents, digging out the springhead so we have water. It is so worth it because we love it so
much and it’s a good experience for the kids! I was also freaked out by the locals at the bottom of
the mountain that we wave to on the way up! What if they took a liking to Bonnie. Could Dan teach me to shoot his gun
before I left? Finally on
Saturday, my mom suggested that we should definitely rent a place. We would just go visit the cabin we
usually stay at because we love it so much but the conditions are too unknown
for us going with 5 Wogs. AMEN!! I
found a cheap place miraculously for the days we needed and I was
ecstatic! Dan was super
sad and I felt bad going without him but I felt worse at the prospect of
having 4 days stuck at home when we could be creating fun family memories and
not taking advantage of it! I
realize that Bonnie has two more summers with us before she GRADUATES. What??
I got home from Annie’s Swim Championships Sunday night, the
kids packed their bags and off we went with my mom at 7 AM on Monday morning
for the mountains. If ever I felt
God’s grace, blessings and favor on us, it was this trip. I am pretty sure it had
something to do with my desperate prayer requests that I sent out to all my
praying friends! We had no
construction delays on the highway, which is miraculous, and more importantly
no long lines at Chickfila! We got
to the mountains in 7 hours WITH 2 stops and no casualties in the car. Well
actually I think Eddie had a bloody lip but thank God no chipped teeth or
anything requiring medical attention!!!
When we stepped out of the car, leaving 92 degrees, it felt
like pure air-conditioning! We
LOVED our little place and it was perfect for the Wogs. Nothing fancy but it had a flushing
toilet and we were in heaven! The kids wasted no time playing, swimming,
boating, and enjoying the beautiful weather! My brave meter also went up quite a bit having successfully
and SAFELY getting all of us to the mountains!! Little did I know, I would take my braveness to A WHOLE NEW
LEVEL, that I never wanted to experience later in the week…
The first morning, my mom cut up copious amounts of peaches
and spoiled my children and I, serving us in bed! We got dressed and headed to the Biltmore Estate and
experienced a picture perfect day AND all the 5 Wogs got in FREE!! (Apparently
it's free for kids during the summer!!!)
We toured the incredible house in all it’s glory, ate in the delicious
Stable Café, photographed almost every flower in the garden and of course
shopped in the gift store and found treasures like Apple Jam that Bubba coveted
and hoarded!
We got up on Wednesday and like idiots asked Siri how we
should get the cabin we usually go to, from where we were located. We estimated it was 15 minutes away. I knew how to get there but we would
have to backtrack a little down the road.
Siri likes to take the direct route which on this occasion meant
traversing straight over the mountains and bypassing the interstate. At first it was fine, a double lane
road going 60 miles an hour…THEN she turns us on Rabbit Skin Road and it was
shaped like an S. The kids were
screaming to turn around but turning a large suburban truck around ain’t no
easy task. My mom and I kept thinking that around the next hairpin turn an
interstate would gloriously appear.
Well, not so much…for the next 20 minutes, our condition got worse and
worse.
When we turned on a one
lane, dirt road, I thought I might be leading my 5 precious children and
beloved mother to their tragic death off the side of a cliff. I was sweating in my long sleeve fleece
jacket and yelling at Bubba to calm down.
He had his hand on the dash, panting heavily and his other hand on his
chest, saying,”WE ARE GOING TO DIE!” Bonnie on
the other hand, was pointing out little bunnies and beautiful views and
streams. LOL FINALLY, thank you Jesus!
We came to a paved road!!
My mom told me to pull over and she was going to knock on a door and ask
for directions. I called the local
store that is right down the street from where we were going and the lady said
we were just down the street and that I should NEVER ask Siri for directions in
the mountains! LOL!!! Lesson Learned!!! Mom confirmed the direction from the
fine young man she spoke with and we were on our way!
We got to the cabin and waved to some young country boys on
the way up and my original fears of them stalking Bonnie started tormenting
me. I was wishing I had a hooded
jacket to force Bonnie to wear with sunglasses. It was so
wonderful being back at the cabin, the place where we got our dog KC and taking
our traditional porch picture UNTIL… we heard a truck coming up the road, we
watched closely and it passed my truck and went on up the mountain, much to our
relief!!! But THEN, they came
right back down and parked BEHIND my truck blocking our exit route! Bubba and I went into sheer panic thinking
they were coming up to kill us and take Bonnie. Me being SO brave sent my mom out there to intercept them
while I locked the door in preparation to escape. I could hear my heart beating in my ears and was shaking as
I walked around where my mom and the guys were talking. THANK GOD, they were the son of the man
who upkeeps the place and they were just checking if we needed them to cut the
grass or do anything. Their dad is
the one who gave us our dog KC .
We
finally got back in our truck and I have never been so happy in my life. Bonnie asked why I was so freaked out
and I explained that I could have put my 5 children in danger and if something
tragic had happened, I would be responsible. Her comment was, “Well, if we die, we die!” How can one person be so dang calm all the time? We got to the country store and my mom bought ice cream for
all and I sat in a booth and tried to get my breathing and heartbeat back to a
normal rate. All and all it was a
true Wog adventure we will never forget and that we NEVER want to experience
again!
The rest of our trip was calm, peaceful with perfect 70
degree weather! I
experienced such personal rest and peace that I desperately needed due to my crazy
Wog life. We had so many fun,
memory-making moments with my mom and my precious kids. I hated to leave utopia and 48-degree
mornings to enter back into our insane Wog schedule but we have to face
reality. When I got in my bed back
at home, I just thanked the Lord for his faithfulness and his covering over our
entire trip! My mom and I had such
a blessed time of fun together and I treasured every second of it! I feel empowered again and felt
so proud that I did not let fear stop me from a trip of a lifetime!!! Now I will be looking for my next brave
adventure! I just pray it doesn't involve Siri's directions!
