family – New England's Narrow Road

Easter Day Treasure Hunt Reminiscing

Today is Easter and my son is grilling ribs. I made southern style potato salad and we will eat outside later. It’s hot here in Florida so I have the AC on.

My other children are spending the day with their better half’s family. Did I say that right? They are in New Hampshire and Kentucky. Anyway, like every other holiday, nothing special happens here. We eat and drink and relax.

Years ago the kids and I would dye eggs using food coloring, or one of the popular store bought ways to dye eggs. It was fun, and we made memories. Funny, but I don’t remember their father being a part of any of it.

When my kids were small I would hide eggs (for the Easter Bunny) and put little notes inside which would have clues as to where to find the next egg. It was a treasure hunt, which took a lot of planning and organizing. At the end of the hunt there would be a big Easter basket which I had put together for each child. Usually there would be candy and a wrapped, special gift.

One year when my youngest son was small, he and my grown daughter searched for eggs in the woods near our rental house. Usually I didn’t put eggs outside because of animals, but this place was in the woods and it was perfect for a good-weather egg-hunt. I wrote down the number of plastic eggs I hid, and I think we came up one short although they looked and looked, and I couldn’t remember all the spots, so it may still be there. It could contain a dollar bill or maybe a quarter!

When I was a kid, my father used to do the same type of treasure hunt notes thing for me and my sister. None of my kids have kids of their own, but if they ever do, they may carry on the tradition.

Easter dogs — Thank you Spiritze at Pixabay for this cute image

Back to School – One More Time

Since 1982 I have been doing the “back to school” thing- yes, for 32 years. At first it was exciting. As a parent of young children, back then, it was fun and scary to see them go off to their first day. I used to take first day of school photos of the kids all dressed in their new clothes. I would bake them a special cake or surprise to celebrate. Each year we’d head to Target or Walmart to buy all those school year supplies.

As time went on, I began to dread school. My 3 boys were not the best students. Their grades did not reflect their abilities, and keeping track of what they needed to do, when they tried their best to hide it from me, was a full time job. Helping with homework was a daily nightmare as well. My husband worked shift work and was no help. While I made supper (after a day at my job), I juggled keeping the baby quiet while answering math questions.
I attended the teacher conferences, and ran the kids back and forth to all their extracurricular activities. I picked them up from the buss stop, and got up early to see them off each day. I lost time at work when they stayed home sick, and sat at all their practices for whatever sport they played.

My children are spaced out in age so when my first son was in elementary school, I had a baby. When those two were in school, I had a baby girl. And when my daughter was in 5th grade, one son was in middle school and the other one had already flunked out of high school. (He went on to get his GED and is now a very successful man). Guess what? I had another baby. This one was not at all planned, and so I began again. When I discovered that I was pregnant the most depressing thought was doing school all over again! In 2003 he had his first day of school, and boy was I over it.

Now my youngest son is starting his junior year of high school. Two years to go. I am not involved with the school. In fact I have as little as possible to do with any of it. I try to keep my son on track and spout the benefits of good grades to deaf ears. I’m used to it. I know that he can still do fine in life even with bad grades. There are more important things.

So here we go again. Yay.

On The Table

My daughter and her family were coming for dinner one weekend and I snapped this photo after I began setting the table. My neighbor had given me those little lavender flowers and I wanted a photo of them.

My daughter has a hyper-active dog. She is mid-size and looks a lot like a black lab and she is very naughty- at times.

On this particular day I had made cornbread to go with our meal. It was on the kitchen counter and the dog helped herself to it while we sat on the porch talking.

Back in April she did the same thing at my daughter’s house with her birthday cheesecake that I had spent good time making!

We ate our meal without any cornbread.

Family Friendly Day Trip to Ruggles Mine in New Hampshire

If you are one of the many people who are looking for New England day trips for the family, you might consider Ruggles Mine.

I’ve been there twice. The first time was on a field trip with my son’s school class and we went back again the following summer with the family.

Located in Grafton, NH, this unusual tourist attraction is fun for anyone who loves being outdoors with the added plus of collecting rocks and minerals. It is a wonderful place for kids to explore.

Ruggles Mine opens in May and is in the central western area of the state on top of Isinglass Mountain, but it’s not a terribly steep drive. I love the history of the mine which was kept a secret for years by Mr. Ruggles who discovered a wealth of mica on his property. Today you will still find load of mica there and can take it home with you!