What is a BFF

This one's for you Dorothy

The kids have an expression bff which I believe means "best friend forever". Forever is a long time and even longer to someone who is just at the beginning of their life journey. True friends are rare in this life and I have been blessed with many. Can one have more than one bff or do you risk offending many by choosing one?

We have started off our current adventure by visiting friends whom we have known since the beginning of our life journey. People who were there at the beginning, are still a part of our lives, and probably will be to the end of our days.

I'll never forget the day I met Grace. My parents had just dropped me at the dorm, Wardall Hall on the Champaign campus of the U of I, and headed for home. I was sitting on the edge of my bed contemplating how to begin my college career when a rather diminutive mom walked in and said to me, "this is my daughter Grace and she doesn't have any friends. Will you be her friend?" Friendless as I felt at the moment how could I refuse.

I don't know to this day why Grace loves me  but I do know why I love her and have tried to hold her close to this day. First I fell in love with her quirkiness and quick wit. Even when telling the most tragic story she can find a bit of humor in any situation. As I got to know her better it was her heart that held me close. A goodness that is hard to find anywhere else. It is as simple as that. One person in your life who accepts what you are warts and all and embraces it.  The one person you can trust with your most private thoughts with the confidence that you will never be judged.

As Grace put it recently, we shouldn't even be friends. We were constant companions during our first year of  college after which I had to transfer to another school. We talked on the phone infrequently over the next three years. She was in my wedding and godmother to my youngest son. As our families grew and we became busy mothers we saw each other less frequently until she moved to St. Louis and we went years during which our contact consisted solely of birthday and Christmas letters. Now our children are grown and although we still talk to each other infrequently and visit less frequently, each encounter just seems to continue where we left off as though no time has passed at all.

Hardly a day has gone by over the 45 years we have known each other that I do not have a thought of her and no matter how long it has been since our last contact, I know that if I ever need her she will be there  for me in a flash. That's why we took a selfie this week and posted it on facebook with the simple caption "bffs"

While visiting Grace, we stayed around the corner from the historic district of St. Charles, Mo. A quaint town with great food and the usual assortment of chotsky shops.

Dinner at Mother-In-Laws House

St. Charlles historic center.

Dining al fresco in October

Boot Camp, Oscar Shearer State Park

Once again I arrived in Florida for the winter wondering how I have allowed myself to slip into such miserable condition during the fall months when we allow ourselves to wallow in "the weather is so bad I can't do anything but sit in front of the TV eating bon bons" syndrome. This year I thought I had escaped that syndrome by spending a few weeks in Florida before Thanksgiving getting plenty of sunshine and exercise before the holiday gorge. Well, yes I returned to the northern tundra feeling great and well conditioned and then three weeks of no sunshine and the usual cadre of parties with baked goods and great candy readily available and I returned  to Florida in deplorable condition.

Luckily, our first major stop is always, Oscar Shearer State Park near Venice Florida. Aerobic exercise class three mornings a week, the Legacy bike trail (20 miles round trip), 12 miles of sandy hiking trails, the all trails hike each year, and of course, the beach have finally helped me overcome the state of lethargy created by too much to eat and not enough movement.  

Anyone who is my fitbit friend will note the soaring of my steps from last week to this week. My flower has been raised to the max every day and now I feel great. Non fitbit users please excuse the references which you probably don't get.

At least 50% of the trail looks like this.
giving your walk the feel of a real work out.

Did I really hike all those trails for a hot dog?
 Yes, and it was the best one I ever ate.

Our time here is up on Saturday. Over the years of coming here we have made a few friends and acquaintances. It was good to reunite with many of them. We will miss Carl's banjo and jokes, pancake breakfasts, and even the exercise classes and hope all will be the same when we return next year. This is such a great place to recoup from the excitement and fun of the holidays.

What a Great Summer

Our summer didn't really begin with the Big Adventure. It started the moment we arrived home from Florida the Wednesday before Holy Thursday when we were anticipating 13 house guests for the week-end attending a youth hockey tournament. The afternoon they were to begin arriving, we discovered a leak under the kitchen sink and as Don was heading out to get the parts to fix it he was informed that one of our house guests is a plumber. As a result of our hospitality we had the sink leak fixed, a shower fixed, and a toilet seat replaced. Thanks, Corey. We all had so much fun cohabitating for three days, that we may do it again next year only we requested that they bring an electrician along next time. 

We spent Mother's Day in Minnesota home of the Twins. (also Bob and Gretchen). Bob treated us moms to a wonderful prime rib dinner.







Immediately after returning from our trip we packed our suitcases and headed out by car to Mound, Minnesota. Their mother had a wonderful opportunity to tour Europe with a band as both chaperon and clarinetist. Bob needed a little help with babysitting and managing the household in her absence and Don and I were recruited. These are two of the funniest children I have ever known. The week was filled with laughter and joy. Their love of water in any form makes the swimming pool one of the best babysitting aids ever even on less than desirable days. We found something to do each day, rain or shine, big or little, and each day was an adventure in itself. Even announcing that our adventure for the day is going to the park we get a resounding "YEAH".

 Besides the several parks we visited, we played mini golf twice, (this is Jakie's newest obsession), went on a bike ride to the drive-in for lunch, and spent a day at the local swimming hole. 

Both boys mastered their two wheelers this summer

Jacob had a bit of trouble mastering the steering.

Later in the summer we were honored when the whole family came to Chicago for their vacation. It was only for a week-end, but we sure made the most of it. The biggest event was the day we spent downtown. The twins had their first train ride which Jake told me he had been waiting his whole life for. (He's four). Both of them spent a great deal of time with their noses pinned to the window. We went to the top of Sears Tower, again with noses pinned to windows, lunch at Bergoff's, then Millenium Park to the Bean and the fountains. 

We also hit the All Aboard restaurant better known as the choo choo restaurant, where the food is delivered in a model train, the Children's Museum, and Blackberry Farm. During these days Jake discovered that putting jelly on your peanut butter sandwich is actually a good idea, and chocolate ice cream is just as good, if not better, than vanilla. Robbie decided he would like to go up into all of the towers in Chicago and grandma really knows how to pick the best ice cream flavors.

Our girls paid us a visit in September when Ella and Amy had tickets to see One Dimension, the latest preteen heart throb boy band. Elise came along to hang with the grandparents while mom and sis attended the concert. We had some really great girl time, something that doesn't happen too often in this testosterone dominated family.

The rest of the summer we spent a lot of time on the golf course, a little bit of biking, a few trips with our Winnebago Club, and just having fun hanging with our good friends.

On one of our Winnie trips we visited the Field of Dreams in Iowa. I can't believe how moved I was to be there. I guess it is just such a great piece of Americana which has managed to escape commercialism. It stands in its original state, well maintained and free of charge.


Four days into fall comes my birthday and it was a real wow this year. It lasted for four days. On Thursday I enjoyed my free birthday golf game, compliments of Village Greens, with my friend Mike who shares birthdays with me. In the evening I was treated to a great Italian dinner at Clara's by my niece, Lindsay, and brothers Jim and Bill. I happened to mention the week before that I was short of golf balls and when presents started arriving, I received 42 of them. Thanks, guy, they won't go to waste. On Friday we golfed with Bill and later had dinner with one of our cousins. Saturday I received a birthday surprise visit from our Green Bay Chilsons and we spent the evening in Geneva at our Nephew Jason's house. The week-end terminated Sunday evening with dinner at our camping buddies the Russells. 

As always I try to be forever thankful for the blessings of the family friends we have been honored so with.

The Adventures Continue 2014

Here it is the report you have all been waiting for. The 2014 Big Adventure Trip.

This year we were limited to 10 days due to other family obligations so we made the most of them putting somewhere near 3,000 miles on Bertha and covering 3 National Parks, a visit with my sister, and Monticello, the home of our first cousin six times removed, Thomas Jefferson.

Jack has been asking to see Mammoth Caves for the past several years and we thought this would be a great starting off point not terribly far from home. However before we left Woodridge we had to hit Doggie Diner for a Gyro. Jack has developed a taste for Chicago food and his favorite eateries. He now has a culinary agenda for his visits. Besides Doggie Diner, they include Papa's Pizza, Portillos, Connie's Pizza, and the coups de gras, Fannie Mae Candy. Do you see a theme here? Much of this was inspired by his father's nostalgia for home. My children have never wanted mom's special meals when they come for a visit, they are always looking for good pizza. Spending the winters in Florida I can tell you, we live without pizza for almost 4 months and usually hit Papa's the first day back in town.

However, I digress. Mammoth Caves which I have been to twice before was never so exciting as this time seen through the eyes of these children. They have a special way of making everything such great fun. Elise decided this was already the most awesome trip we have yet taken and at the young age of 6, she is already on her 4th adventure with us. They all have their National Parks passports and know exactly how to get them stamped without our aid.

We arrived in Virginia on the evening of Carol and Jim's anniversary. What do you think of a sister who will spend her anniversary preparing a full lasagna meal and delivering it to a campground to five hungry travelers? A the next evening we celebrated our 44th anniversary with hot dogs and s'mores over a bonfire at their home. A great way to mark the passage of time in the presence of family.

Our anniversary selfie

The first day we spent at our cousin Tom's estate called Monticello. Ella has become immersed in history, especially on knowing she is related to our third president. She had her hand up every time our docent asked a question about him. This was her favorite part of the trip.

Shenandoah was especially fun as we were able to explore it in part in the company of my sister, Carol, and her grandchildren Joseph and Jacob. Of, course it was great to spend time with her son, Andy and Amy, his wife. We had a great picnic and a great hike. We ascended to a beautiful view view from on high of the Appalachian mountains. The children spent quite a bit of time climbing out on the rocks while Grandma held her breath in fear of losing one of them. These children are remarkably adventurous and seem to have no sense of their own limitations (if, indeed, they do have any). I was proud of our Jack and the way he kept Elise close to him allowing me to breathe intermittently.

Andy with Joseph and Jacob

Taking off from Virginia, we had an all day drive to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. After many card games, we arrived at our final destination.

I taught the kids a favorite Patterson game "Piggy"

We spent the first day hiking the mountain trails to new heights and spectacular views. As is typical of the Smokys, it is difficult to capture the splendor through the fog. It did clear enough occasionally though for us to appreciate where we were. Of course, we had to stop at every high rock for the kids to climb. Jack took such good care of his little sister enabling her to explore further than she could have if it meant that I had to help her. I think he likes his sisters a lot more than he will admit, but we'll keep that between you and me. Our last hike of the day was up to a waterfall and we were able to let them splash in it and cool off. Especially Elise who just can't help but get her clothes wet wherever there is water. She never complained though about having to finish hikes in wet pants. She is a real trooper.

The second day we spent several hours driving through the historic part of the park. We had a good taste of the difficulties and the beauty of pioneer life in this isolated land. Don decided to try to purchase this lovely little cabin as a summer home.

We were camped a short distance from Dollywood and although we didn't choose to spend our time and money in the park, we were treated each evening there by a rather spectacular fireworks display sitting in comfort on our patio.

Don treated us all to a variety show one evening, The Smoky Mountain Opry. There was something for everyone: comedy, singing, dancing, tumbling, and magic. Elise was so totally wowed by the performances that the people sitting near us were equally entertained by her excitement. A good time was had by all.

Returning home we were met at the door  by their Dad who scooped them up and took them away leaving us with great memories of shared time and bonding with those special children.

A Quick Recap of our Winter

Back by popular demand - well at least a pop of 1, but thanks to a friend who expressed an interest in my continuing, I was motivated to reinstate this blog after almost a year absence. The absence was in part because it had become labor intense to use this web site. So when I was unable to use it at all, I was forced to figure out the problem and it seems that google has made it necessary to use their browser if you want to use their web site. I can accommodate that since they are giving me this for free, but it seems that they might have given me a clue before I got frustrated and quit. But all is working now so I am back.

In looking back, the last post was on the cusp of my 65th birthday and here I am about to have another birthday in 2 months. But lets not rush that one. Medicare has been a godsend and I will not expound on that except to say that I am in good health.

There is so much catching up to do that I won't even go into the fact that the whole family was here for the week between Christmas and New Year's and what a great chaotic time it was. Our southern visitors were thrilled that we had so much snow. and the day they left it was coming down in droves. Unfortunately, that was the beginning of the polar vortex which ultimately chased us all the way down to Florida.

We arrived in Atlanta, covered with a layer of salt on everything, on a lovely 50 something degree day only to hear the weather forecast that two days later the temperature was going to drop to 4. Yes, that's right. I did NOT leave out a zero. We said hello to our kids, had dinner, went to church and breakfast the next morning and headed out of town not stopping until we were over the border into Florida. Unfortunately the first several nights down there were still well below the freezing mark and all we could do was thank our lucky stars that it wasn't worse. Eventually it did warm up and we had a great winter doing most of the usual things previously recorded here over the years. The year was a little different though as we had a few more visitors from home making the time fly by even faster than usual.

The highlights of our year included

• Venice - our stepping off point and always a favorite at Oscar Shearer State Park. We have been going there enough years now that we have made friends with the regulars in the park.



Yes there were four more that didn't fit in the pic.

• Lakeland: Most of the Silver Spokes were around for a good part of our time there. Who says you can't serve a full corned beef dinner to 12 adults in one RV during the pouring rain?
• We took a few day trips: we went over to Tarpin springs to ride the Pinellas bike trail, go sponge shopping, and have a nice Greek lunch.

  

  The Boardwalk at Disney World

• Of course, thanks to our friends Lynn and Becky, there were the annual trips to Disney.
• We have made a day at Fort DeSoto Park an annual tradition.
• The Strawberry Festival. Don and Nancy fell in love with Savannah Jack and returned for a second day.
• And, of course, finally, the usual amount of golf, bike riding, hiking, and bird watching.

The highlight of our winter, however was St. Augustine. This is one of the most beautiful cities in the world to me and it never fails to thrill us. This year we were honored by the presence of Elizabeth and the boys from Atlanta for their spring break. Words cannot express the shear joyfulness of these boys. Like all the Chilson kids they totally love the water, as long as they don't overhear the adults talking about jellyfish. Drew fell and scraped his leg on some shells and you will never convince him it was not a jellyfish bite. They spent their first night sleeping in the "bus" with the usual treatment of movies and snacks. And, of course, no trip to St. Augustine is complete without enjoying at least one sunrise on the beach.

Musings on turning 65

Enough time has passed since the occurrence of my 65th birthday to give it some perspective.  I had been dwelling on the significance of this birthday all summer if not even all year. For the first time in my life a birthday actually meant to me that I was aging. After all, isn't medicare for old people? Also, for the first time in my life, I never have occasion to lie about my age. I don't have to make myself older to receive discounts and making myself younger only deprives me of the advantages of my age. I had a friend once who said that if she were going to lie about her age she would make herself older rather than younger so people would say she looked good for her age instead of thinking she looked old for her age.

Don had decided that we should have a party to celebrate the occasion of my acceptance into medicare. It was to be held on the Sunday following the actual day. I had some trepidation about the event: first it seemed presumptuous to assume that the world would care about my birthday, and second because many of the very close friends we had invited were unable to attend but as soon as my friends and relatives started walking into the room I was glad we did it.  The children from Green Bay came in to join us so my joy was complete.Those who honored me by attending, radiated love and those who were unable to be there in person had sent warm sentiments before the event. Looking across that room at the accumulation of loyal, loving friends and family, I saw what my 65 years has brought me. Everyone of those people represented a phase in my life which was enriched by their involvement. This truly was a celebration of my life and not of my age.

I appreciated the heartfelt wishes expressed in the many cards I received. The greatest present of all was from out grandchildren who have travelled far and near with us in our RV. Somehow they found a plaque which listed "Grandma's House Rules" which reflects the list of rules we have when on the road. It was lacking one steadfast rule however: Rule #42:  Never leave grandma behind. Ella insists I have to find a sharpie and pencil it in and I probably will because of all the rules we have, the children have adhered to this one in more ways than they realize.

So overall, there may be more advantages to turning 65 than just discounts. I hope I am only just beginning to realize them.

PART 11



Our cabin in the woods



Now, anyone who knows me knows that I believe every girl gets a birth month as opposed to a birthday and mine started out with a boom and ended with a bang. I gradually came to this conclusion beginning on my 18th birthday when I found myself away from home for the first time on my birthday living in a college dorm too newly ensconced there for any of my new acquaintances to know it was my birthday. After a day of feeling sorry for myself, I announced to two of the nicest girls I would ever meet that it was indeed my birthday and they immediately began a celebration taking the sting out of my loneliness. I decided right then that no one will wish you a happy birthday if they don't know it is your day. So now I begin to publicize it starting Sept 1. As a result, I find people to celebrate with the entire month.

We started out with a trip to Starved Rock which has become one of our favorite go to places in Illinois. We spent a few days there with our friends the Fulls staying in one of the lodge cabins out in the woods with the deer. The cabin was very rustic with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a fireplace. We did some hiking, biked the I & M trail a ways, ate a lot and played pinochle. It is so great to have the kind of friends with whom you can share some of your favorite activities.

We were home for one day and left for Atlanta to visit my birthday buddy Drew and his family. His birthday is exactly one week before mine so we bring his presents and they give me two birthday lunches, presents, birthday brownies a la mode, and more hugs than anyone can handle. I even was honored to hold Drew's game ball from his first baseball game. Do you believe there are places in this country where baseball season begins in September?

Drew is the one at shortstop

The day after we returned home I golfed my birthday round and prepared for my party. Overall I would say it was a great birth month and now I have to wait 11 months for the next one. 

Glenwood Canyon and Beyond

We've been home from our trip now for more than a week and it is time for me to try and recap the second week of our adventure. We actually left Rocky Mountain National Park a day early as Don and Amy were intrigued by our plans to go to Glenwood Springs and the canyon.

We camped in the town of No Name along I 70 at a resort which, among other amenities, offers white water rafting on the Colorado River through Glenwood Canyon. While they took the older two first thing in the morning on the ride of their lives, Don and I spent the morning with Elise. Like Amy said, "Give her a few rocks and a body of water and she can be occupied for hours." After last year's excursion on the Virgin River in Royal Gorge where we almost killed Don on a rafting adventure we kind of decided our days of white water rafting may be over.

After the rafters returned, we went on a short bike ride up the canyon and found a place they could play in the river for awhile, and after a nice lunch in town we said good-bye to the parents and began our solo adventure as they headed for home.

In the morning, we set out on a road trip to the Colorado National Monument. It was Saturday morning and a little more than an hour on the road so we entertained ourselves with the blue tooth by calling everyone the children knew in my phone book. If you were on of the lucky ones who got called, you were and important part of our adventure.

Colorado National Monument is another Canyon. This canyon was a product of erosion rather than water. We naturally found more rocks to climb and had a great picnic lunch among the rock formations. At the visitor center these children amazed us with their interest in learning more about the natural wonders of our world. There was a hands on display of big horn sheep horns which Elise touched and excitedly exclaimed "I can't believe I am touching this!"

On our last day we went on our official bike ride up Glenwood Canyon. Round trip "Excellent Ella" rode her new bike 14.6 miles She was an awesome champ. Jack rode the whole trip pulling Elise on her trailer which slowed him down almost to our pace. They all worked hard to get up the canyon earning the relatively easy trip down until the wind kicked up right into our faces making it a bit more challenging to get home.

Of course, we had a great picnic at the top, and stopped to play in the river and on the rocks for a bit.

You must know now that this whole trip started at the end of last year's trip when the children decided the next trip should be to Missouri to see the St. Louis Arch so we had to go home by way of St. Louis. It gave them a good look at the state of Kansas, which we decided looked best through the rear view mirror. No offense meant to Kansans, I'm sure there are some redeeming qualities there. My long time wonderful friend, Grace, happens to reside in St. Louis so we took the opportunity to mooch off her family and have a nice visit while marking the Arch off our to do list. She happened to have her daughter and 5 grandchildren visiting at the same time. The kids had a great time there. You see they have a backyard swimming pool with a diving board, a pool table, a foos ball table, and the biggest TV you have ever seen. As well as a dad who loves to talk hockey. Needless to say I think this was Jack's favorite place.

Don and I had done the arch once before, and found it to be an experience which was cool but only needed to be experienced once in a lifetime. It is amazing how an ordinary thing can become exciting when looking at it through the eyes of children. Suddenly the  claustrophobic confines of the elevator car which took us to the top became the most exciting ride at Great America. The view from the top may as well have been the Empire State Building even though you have to lean into the windows to be rewarded with views of the Mississippi River and the Cardinals stadium. There is a little museum attached to the arch which commemorates Lewis and Clark and our early pioneers and included a film about their expedition in Cinemascope (anyone remember that?) It was here they found their souvenirs of their trip and a fitting finale to a great adventure.

As you might have guessed already, they have already planned where they want to go next year. Looks like the nation's capitol will be descended upon by the Adventuring Chilson Clan sometime next summer.