Sorry fro the repeat blog archives.. I’ve been trying to spread them out… I wrote this the summer after Mama passed away, and wanted to revisit it too.
After I completed my Masters this summer, I traveled home to Ohio to spend a few weeks decompressing before starting the new job.
The time following losing Mama, I had only a few weeks to process/pray/mourn before starting a very intense capstone class for my M.Ed. That class darn near killed me, and I didn’t have a spare second to think about well, anything besides phonetics, comprehension, and onset and rime… #readingspecialistproblems
July 26 rolled around, I turned in my final project, and gleefully departed from school, and finally FINALLY was able to breathe for the first time in weeks. I stuck around DC for the weekend before heading up to the Buckeye State for some much needed quiet time.
There is something to be said for taking vacations alone. I am an extreme extrovert so the balance of my time away was perfect. The first few days of my Ohio trip included: a lake house all to myself, books, cooking, walking the dog, ice cream shops, praying, Mass, writing in my journal, and dinner at my cousin’s house, who lives only a few minutes from the lake house. I got ample time alone, but was also able to spend time with other human beings during dinner.
It was perfect.
One much-needed item on my vacation agenda was to finally take the much-needed time to commemorate Mama’s life. So, I visited many of her favorite places.
1) LakeSide, Marblehead OH is an absolute gem. Founded by the United Methodist Church, this adorable Victorian village consists of gorgeous architecture, shuffleboard, putt-putt, ice cream shops, religious goods stores, a general store, golf carts, restaurants, and bicycles. Mama always loved visiting, as she was a proud member of the UMC.
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2) Geneva-on-the-Lake, OH. At the risk of sounding like a complete nostalgic, I realized while sitting at the Fascination table that I was the fourth generation to play that game… Pretty cool. AND I beat my mom twice at the game.. I was quite proud of myself.
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If carb-loving runs in families, I know where I got my weakness from. Mama LOVED carbs, in particular donuts. I don’t remember a single day coming to her house where the oh-so healthy Entemann’s frosted donuts weren’t sitting on her counter alongside grocery store sugar cookies. (one thing I did not get from Mama, however, is the fact that she was able to eat a copious amount of sweets and still maintain a size nothing physique.) So, to commemorate, I allowed myself a Madsen’s Donut. Peanut. The best.
3) Holmes County, Ohio. OK, it’s a little ironic that I felt the need to go down the Holmes County, which is Ohio’s Amish Country, to remember Mama. While she said she enjoyed taking little day trips to the land of the horse and buggy people, the last time my mom and I took her there, she complained the. entire. time. In fact, we were both pretty sure that she told a gentleman that we abandoned her at a park bench.
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It’s the little things in life.
Decompressing is so necessary in this day and age. What do you do to be alone? Be quiet? Reflect? While a two-week long vacation alone isn’t always feasible, I believe it is essential to take time every so often.