Last week it started out with you boys and Mom going north to spend time with my cousins, Aunt and Uncle. You all went to the beach on Friday in Brunswick. All of my cousins on the Weafer side and all of their kids! 8 Kids in total. Mom said that it was quite a sight to see all of the two year olds playing so well together! She said that at one point each two year old was digging the same hole with no fussing or crying at all!
The next day, my cousin Dick and his wife Heather were swimming he peaks island race in Portland. This was much more than just a race for them as it marked the first time Heather was able to race again since overcoming cancer. It was extremely emotional for both of them and they finished strong too! Dick finished 30-something out of 140 and Heather was in the sixties! Both of you and Mom went to Portland to cheer them on with Kim and Don’s families. Heather and Dick made the front page of the Portland Herald’s sports page the day before this race! The article talked about their long journey through cancer, ect. Pretty exciting!
Mom said that you both had a great time up there. JD, you played with Sam and Lily quite a bit and Adam was kept busy with the other younger kids. You all went back to my Uncle’s place in Brunswick after the race to further celebrate.
I wish I could have been there, but my family has been very busy with my grandparents lately. After Grammies fall, a few weeks ago, we have all pulled together to visit her and stay with Grampie. Uncle Don has been staying with Grampie non-stop since Grammie fell. We have all realized that Grampie has Alzheimer’s and can’t remember too much anymore. If people aren’t with him, he doesn’t really know what’s going on and sometimes even where he is.
Anyway, this is where I was on this weekend, staying with Grampie. Kim and Don stayed with him the prior few nights while Dick and Heather trained for their race. Uncle Don relived me on Sunday and I met you both up in Gray and Grandie’s.
I have to say that I enjoyed staying with Grampie for a few nights. I haven’t stayed over night at that house in over 20 years. It kind of brought those childhood memories back. It was hard to see Grampie in so much disarray, but it also felt good to help him out. I was able to visit Grammie about four times during my stay. At one point I wheeled her out of her room and we hung out, outside for quite a while. We had a great conversation, pieces of which I think I will remember, even if she doesn’t.
The past few months have been most hard on my Uncle and Mom. They have been working around the clock to see that their parent’s needs are met. My cousin Kim, put this schedule together for some of the grandparents to pitch in and help. I think that it was necessary to give Nana and Donnie a break and I know that we were all happy to help out.
SO, Monday morning we left for Moosehead Lake. Dick, Heather and Finn met us in Greenville around noon to get the food shopping out of the way. Prior to meeting them, the four of us had a nice
lunch outside on the deck of a restaurant on the Lake. While we were eating a Pontoon Plant buzzed right above us and landed just out on the lake. It looked like it was close enough to touch!We eventually got to camp and set up tents, put away food, and got settled. It wasn’t long before JD was jumping off the dock into the water! Adam, you were little more tentative but you and Finn made your way in from shore.
Taking the boat over to the island is kind of like walking out to the field at Fenway. Each time is equally amazing, going by familiar docks, seeing the wildlife almost immediately, and pulling into the dock to see the camp for the first time in while. It felt good to be back.
We played in the water for most of this day and were in bed by about 10:00. This was Adam’s first time sleeping in a tent. The last two years that Adam has been up there, we’ve slept inside the camp.
Adam, you took to the tent wonderfully. We all slept on air mattresses and inside the tent together. Every night it rained, but only once during the day. I had forgotten how much I enjoy sleeping outside. There is nothing like it, especially in the rain.During our time on the island we went moose hunting (just looking), explored the backside of the lagoon, and swam and swam and swam!
JD and I made a boat out of sticks that we found on one of our expeditions. We planned ahead and brought rubber bans
to hold the sticks together. The finished product looked pretty cool and it actually floated properly too!
Mom scratched her itch to water ski. We were able to take the boat out to the big lake on one gloomy day. Sure enough Mom got up on her skis right away and off she went. Adam, JD, Dick, Finn and I had a great time watching and encouraging her on!
As is always the case, the adults had great conversation after some drinks at night when the kids were asleep. Dick and Heather are great sounding boards for us, and I hope us for them. It’s nice to have spent so much time with family this summer as our family is going through some changes.
Gramp and Gram are getting older and need more assistance, and all of our little two year olds are getting older and need less. JD said to me many times this week, “Dad, I love this place.” I hope you do and I hope that when Mom and I get old like G and G that you and you kids come here to experience the conversation and inspiration that it continually offers.
