My Favorite Christmas Memory As An Adult

My favorite Christmas memory is from a time when we had very, very little money.  We were planning on building a house on our 5 acre property and had moved out of our home that we were selling.  In the interim, we moved into my husband's Grandmother's house, who graciously opened her home to us during our "in between" time.

Ben had taken a new job so we could pay our bills after his previous employer had cut his salary by nearly 1/3 due to removing his on-call pay.  The new job was with a company that lacked training and organizational structure and he was let go near the end of his probationary status.  This was in October.  While he looked relentlessly for a new job, his loss was during a time of many cutbacks and a job was hard to find.  Our in between time turned into a longer period than we originally expected.  By the generosity of his Grandmother and my parents, we were able to make it through, bit by bit.

December came fast and our financial situation did not allow for a frivolous Christmas.  Fortunately, little one's list was limited.  She wanted Bernie and Pinky (two unicorns I had included in my stories that I told several nights before bed), pajamas and soap (yes, you read that right).  We collected pine cones from the yard and painted them to make Christmas trees for her dollhouse.  Then we painted more pine cones to decorate the tree with.  I bought a large bucket of plaster of paris and we made change holders molded from apples for Christmas gifts.  We also got some gifts for Grandmom and put them in a stocking (we found out Grandmom had never gotten a stocking).

On Christmas morning, we went downstairs and prepared to open our gifts.  We got Grandmom up (she was a late sleeper) and the look on her face when she saw her stocking was priceless.  She went through it ever so patiently, enjoying each item.  Little one opened her gifts, of which were few.  The last one she opened had the unicorns and the foam soap in it.  She went nuts!  She was over the moon about having foam soap.

My heart was fullest on that day and I often reflect on the generosity, love, patience, perseverance and kindness that really shined through during this time.  One of my coworkers gave us a gift card to IHOP.  At that time, I couldn't even remember the last time we had food from anywhere outside of our kitchen.  Another coworker encouraged me to apply for a job I had been looking for when I was nervous about making a change while Ben was out of work (I got the job).  Good things happen even in hard times, we just have to be open to seeing them.

Fun Moments in Travel - Episode 9

Oh mercy, do I have another story for you about fun moments in travel!  On our weekend trip to D.C. (see Episode 6), we parked in a parking garage as suggested by the hotel where we were staying and left the car there for the weekend.  We planned to head out Monday morning to avoid the influx of traffic sure to be heading in on Memorial Day.  We headed to our car to leave around 9:30 a.m.  When we drove to the exit, there was a car directly in front of us next to an empty booth where someone was supposed to be collecting money.  The mechanical arm granting our freedom was in the down position.

We both got out of our cars and spoke to a couple that was sitting nearby, also apparently waiting to get out of the garage.  They had been there an hour and tried calling the parking garage company, speaking with the hotel staff and even the building manager that was on site but no one would/could open the gate.  They even called the police to no avail.  Fortunately, the other family called the police and managed to explain the situation in such a way that they came out and spoke to him in person which followed with a dispatch to the fire department (not sure if he used my term, "false imprisonment," but in my head, that's what made this ball start rolling).

To my surprise, the fire department was apparently located just around the corner and within 5 minutes, firefighters were literally walking into the parking garage with axes.  I was internally freaking out because, for some reason, when people show up carrying axes, it is then that I realize something is wrong.  They looked over the mechanical arm to figure out if dismantling it was an option.  If not, I am assuming, they would have axed it, literally.  While the firefighters were doing this, the building manager that had been so incredibly unhelpful an hour prior was suddenly agreeable to calling the parking garage company and getting the matter resolved that way.  The police officer took the man aside and seemed to explain to him that he had already missed that opportunity and instructed the firefighters to move forward with dismantling the arm.  This was delightful to witness because this guy was smug the first time he spoke with the police officer.  Seeing him not get his way and hearing the tone of voice the officer was a treat for me.

Within 5 minutes, we were free to go.  No one took our information.  I thought sure we would receive a bill from the parking garage in a week or two.

As predicted, a few weeks later, Ben and I received a letter in the mail from Washington, D.C.  Walking back to the house from the mailbox I thought, here it is.  When I opened it and found a $100 speeding ticket, you can imagine my surprise!  Upon researching online, we found out there is a specific six lane road (three lanes on each side) on the way in to D.C. that slows down to 35 for no reason other than a speed trap (this single one reportedly brought in $5 MILLION + within a single fiscal year).  Ben wrote a letter requesting the charges to be dropped for several reasons and, to my surprise, they dropped it (thank you internet)!

While the beginning of our trapped adventure had me on edge (there was no way anyone at work would believe me if I told them I couldn't make it to work on Tuesday because I was stuck in a parking garage in Washington, D.C. all day Monday), I rode away with a laugh and a smile because, like my job, you can't make this stuff up.

Fun Moments in Travel - Episode 8

Time shares are amazing!  Seriously, I love them.  Time shares, home away and VRBO have been super good to us over the years.  On one of our trips to Disney, we stayed at a time share with one of our friends.  We had been there for a good three or four days and all of us were pleasantly sleeping upstairs except for Ben, who was having trouble sleeping and decided to go downstairs to watch tv and drift off to sleep.  At an early hour of the morning, he was awoken by a loud knock at the door.

When he approached the door, he looked through the viewer and saw a police officer.  He said through the door, "I am opening the door. I have children sleeping upstairs."  Apparently, the officer had been called by the management company with a report of squatters in our condo.  Ben spoke with the officer and they went over to the management office to discuss the matter.  It was cleared up without further incident while the rest us slept through the entire situation.

While I am always concerned when Ben sleeps away from the bed (because it means he doesn't feel good), I can't explain how thankful I was that he was downstairs on that night.  The thought of a police officer coming upstairs and walking into a bedroom, possibly waking up the sleeping girls or any of us is not something I think about often because of the worry that comes with it.  I suppose this wouldn't be reflected on as a "fun moment" in travel but then when you realize that we were potentially squatters, you've got to find the laugh in there somewhere.

Fun Moments in Travel - Episode 7

We like to try to take day trips when little one has some time off just to have fun experiences as a family.  One spring break week, we decided a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium was in order.  I had purchased tickets at least two weeks (knowing me, it was probably three months) in advance of the day.  I was looking forward to this visit because I myself had wanted to go there for a long time and never had.  The whole weekend before the trip, it was all I talked about!

The morning of the scheduled trip, I woke up absolutely miserable.  Absolutely. Miserable.  Every common sense part of me was telling me to stay home.  Ben and little one could go without me but that other sense that had been wanting to go forever (when I was little, I wanted to be a marine biologist) kept telling me to go!  The tickets were for this specific date alone so if we didn't go, money would be wasted.  I literally stood in front of the mirror and had a conversation with myself out loud.  It went something like this, "You are going to go to the aquarium and have a good time!  You are NOT going to ruin this for anyone else and you will put on a happy face.  You can rest when you get home, baby whiny pants!"  And that is what I did.

When we pulled into the parking garage, all I wanted to do was sleep in the car but I bucked up and kept moving.  We stopped in the cafeteria and had some lunch (complete with medicine).  We meandered through the aquarium and watched a dolphin show with a trainer named April or maybe it was a dolphin named April.  We sat in the splash zone.  We got splashed.  We had fun!  As horrible as I felt, I was so happy to have gone because it really was everything I had hoped it would be, not just the aquarium but also the family time.

When we got home, I hit the bed and believe I stayed there for three days, minus the trip to the doctor's office.  I think it was a sinus infection, like the mother of all sinus infections, and I probably shouldn't have gone back to work when I did but I felt like a major punk going to the aquarium then calling out the next few days.  Was it worth it?  Yes.

Fun Moments in Travel - Episode 6

Washington, DC.  Memorial Day weekend.  Nuff said.  Of course that is NOT how we roll on this here blog.  There's always the standard story of going to DC and seeing the sights that I will spare you with because who needs to hear all that again?

At the end of a very long, hot day filled with extra people visiting DC, we were hoping to get dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, right up the road from our hotel.  As we were walking to said restaurant, it started raining just enough to leave us pretty wet but not soaked by the time we got to the hostess stand.  We were told there would be a two hour wait which was just not an option for us.

As we stood in the doorway trying to figure out where to go, the fire alarm went off.  No one in the building was exiting but Ben was on exit patrol with our group.  The girls had separated from us to look in the gift shop so there was a moment of panic while we were standing in the doorway trying to figure out whether we needed to exit (it was raining harder now) or stay in the building.  The girls, having been trained for years to exit a building upon the first sound of an alarm, were standing outside in the rain next to a curb (see, public schools DO teach kids all kinds of things, like survival).  We managed to find a building with a small overhang a bit up the block and stood under it while looking for another place to eat.  Dad friend found a restaurant with no wait.  Ironically, it was a restaurant literally next door to our hotel.  We walked around the block to the restaurant, NOPA.

By the time we got there, we were completely drenched in our touristy clothing (read: t-shirts and shorts/capris/jeans), hair dripping wet.  We were greeted by a host wearing a suit.  He didn't bat an eye as he sat the six of us at a table near the entrance and center of the dining room.  We were greeted by a waiter also wearing a suit and a person that I refer to as the water boy who filled our glasses after every sip (not an exaggeration).

I was really uncomfortable upon being seated as the restaurant was quite fancy for our dress, even if we had been dry.  However, the waiter was fantastic - even getting information from the chef concerning a few dishes that we had questions about for dietary reasons.  Once I got over the initial shock of feeling out of place, I moved on to just enjoying the experience.

Each of us ordered something different and we all tried each other's items, all of which were impeccably delicious!  Little one had a side called potato air that she didn't share with anyone and I still think about that dish today.  She shares everything so it had to be good and I have considered driving over there just to try it.  The description is as follows, "Potato Air, Black Garlic Jus," something that sounds so incredibly simple but must be magical because I can't replicate it (of course, having not had a sampling, how could I?).

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and had dessert at their on site restaurant while the girls played in one of our two hotel rooms.  What had originally started as a potentially disastrous experience turned into yet another fun moment in travel.

Fun Moments in Travel - Episode 5

We had been planning a special trip for the end of the school year in 2013 to Kings Dominion.  When the time finally came, it was during a hurricane.  Sure, we could reschedule for another time but what fun would that have been?  We left as planned and headed over not knowing what we would run into.  When we got to the park, it was closed.  No problem, we headed over to the hotel, got changed into swimsuits and went for a swim in the indoor pool for the afternoon.  For dinner, we went to (take a guess) Dave and Buster's!  It wasn't in our plans but with the park closed, what else were we to do?

The next morning, we checked the website to see whether or not Kings Dominion would be open.  It was still raining but was expected to clear up in the afternoon.  There was no update so we headed down to breakfast with hopeful hearts.  When we called a bit later in the morning, the message stated that they would be open!  We headed out the door and got to the park shortly after opening.

There was no traffic and we parked so crazy close to the entrance.  When we crossed through the gates into the park, there was hardly anyone there.  It was still raining, more than a sprinkling but less than a shower so some rides were closed but the roller coasters, what we were there for, were open!  Ben and little one weaved through the corrals to get to the coasters with literally no wait.  As soon as they came off one, they went on another one or rode the same one again.  It's the closest we've ever been to a park open just for us and we enjoyed every moment of it!

In the early afternoon, the rain stopped and the people came.  It was a lot more crowded but we had gotten on every ride we wanted to and more already.  We were able to head back later in the afternoon having ridden more than would have ever been possible had we waited for a better weekend.  Where most people would have looked at a weekend trip during a hurricane as a disaster, we were able to see it for what it was, one of the best weekends we've ever had!

Fun Moments in Travel - Episode 4

One of the places we enjoy spending time is Dave & Buster's because they have good food and video games out the wahzoo to play.  We've been to Disney twice and on both trips, we made sure to schedule time at Dave & Buster's.

The first time we went there, the little one was around 4 years old.  The gaming was all about her.  We were walking around in the game area when a gentleman came up to us and chatted for just a moment before giving little one his game card and said, "Merry Christmas!"  We were floored but had no idea what was on the card.  The man looked like Santa - white hair and beard, round gold wire-rimmed glasses and a jolly laugh.  After we finished playing, we took our cards and the card he gave us to the prize counter.  It had over 10,000 tickets on it!

The second time we went, we were worn out from doing so much earlier in the week and had spent the day lounging around the house.  Tired and not feeling well but still wanting to do something, I talked Ben into going to Dave and Buster's.  We were seated right away and had a nice waiter that didn't rush us through our decision on what to have to eat.  It was nice to have time to talk together about our trip so far.  Shortly after placing our order and while the waiter was reloading our game cards, a lady came over and asked if we wanted our picture taken.  We agreed and it turned out wonderfully, especially considering how we were feeling earlier in the day.

I have this picture on my refrigerator and I look at it every day and smile.  It reminds me that time spent with family is always good even when you don't feel 100% and if you don't do things that might be uncomfortable, you lose out on some good memories.