Today was definitely a road trip day. We got up early, packed up our hotel room -no easy task considering the amount of New England treasures we have acquired- then we headed over to pick up Aunt Dottie. Today we planned on driving up to Vermont to visit Joanie and some family graves.
I get a kick out of listening to Mom and Dottie talk to each other. In fact, I love the flurry of half-finished sentences from each of these cute little ladies as they converse. It is as if they are so excited to share their thoughts that they simply do not have enough time to get it all out. But they are adorable and I have heard so many fascinating tales.
One of the best stories I heard today was when Mom was telling about when she was little and Grandma would be driving them around. Mom said Grandma would "punch the gas" when they went on roads with little hills and as they were all squealing, Grandma would say, "We just went over a Filly Loo!" Several times today, Mom and Dottie said, "Filly Loo!" in their best child-like voices as we went over country hills. It was magical. (That and their adorable rendition of "I'm a Little Tea Pot. Seriously, when was the last time YOU heard two cute little ladies singing that song on a road trip?)
The colors of the trees we saw today were simply amazing. It felt as if we had been dropped into the middle of an artist's palette. Reds, yellows, oranges and even some green...the hills were so beautiful! It started to rain as we continued down the road, but it never lasted long and it only made the colors that much brighter!
After lunch we visited some old family graves nearby. There was a feeling of responsibility as I looked at those headstones. I know I need to learn this history and teach it to my children. There are so many wonderful stories to be heard and retold. I am always grateful for the rich heritage we have.
We stopped for a short visit with cousin Joanie. Whose cousin? I don't really know. Mom's? Dottie's? Probably Dottie's. Joanie is not in good health, yet she greeted us sweetly and kept up conversation with Mom and Dottie. I enjoyed being so close to another branch of our family tree. I could see it was difficult for Mom and Dottie to leave and I wished I knew what to say or do to make it easier for them. This is the difficult phase of life... saying goodbye to those we love. I know my family has seen too much of that recently and we wish we knew how to stop those wheels of time. The best we can do is appreciate what we have right here, right now. I will do my best.
There were so many new sights today, including rainbow colored leaves, ancient white churches, New England sheep, and spooky houses, but I think my favorite was seeing the maple trees that were tapped for harvesting of the sap. Vermont maple syrup is famous and of course I will be bringing several bottles home for the girlies to sample on their pancakes!
I talked to all of my girls tonight. I am not used to this ache in my heart caused by missing them. I am so proud of each one of them and I appreciate how hard they have worked while I have been away. They are my heart and soul!
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