{"id":119,"date":"2017-09-18T21:27:53","date_gmt":"2017-09-18T21:27:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.2guysgaming.net\/outdoors\/?p=119"},"modified":"2017-09-18T21:27:53","modified_gmt":"2017-09-18T21:27:53","slug":"labor-day-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.2guysgaming.net\/outdoors\/2017\/09\/18\/labor-day-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Labor Day 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prologue<\/strong><\/p>\n

I said in the last post that summer was winding down. \u00a0We still technically have a couple of weeks left. \u00a0Well, actually, we have about a week and a half until the official end of summer. \u00a0However, last week was Labor Day (the unofficial end), and we are all back to school. \u00a0So, for all intents and purposes, summer is over for 2017.<\/p>\n

Journal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Labor Day weekend is usually our time for one last big trip before we have to buckle down for the school year. \u00a0The last few years have been a trip to Emerald Lake in Vermont. \u00a0We didn’t go this year, but her parents are planning a trip in October. \u00a0While Christine understandably doesn’t want to take the chance of Vermont in October (we have experience of snow in Northern Vermont on Columbus Day as Grand Isle used to be our yearly trip that weekend), I had the idea this morning of maybe getting a hotel room and hanging at the campground during the day. \u00a0I know her dad will make fun of us, but we can make just as much fun of him as he freezes his butt off while we are sitting in front of a cozy fire or lounging in our hot tub bath.<\/p>\n

Who knows if we will actually go through with it. \u00a0Personally, I would love to take the trip because Emerald Isle is one of my favorite places to visit. \u00a0Even thought it is right off of a highway, the campground, and especially the lake, are secluded in a bowl that gives the most wonderful views of the mountains while keeping the sound of traffic on the highway where it belongs. \u00a0Our other favorite campground, which we visit every year on Cape Cod, doesn’t have that same isolation. \u00a0You can still hear the highway and that is somewhat annoying, but it’s the only way that we get to take that trip every year, so we tolerate it.<\/p>\n

Last year, especially, was a fun trip to Emerald Isle. \u00a0More specifically, the trip home was worth it. \u00a0We stopped at a waterfall fed swimming hole for about two \u00a0hours. \u00a0We were going to stop at a few more, but got what we wanted from the one, so we decided to save the others for another trip. \u00a0Alas, that trip wasn’t this year.<\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong. \u00a0I know that I keep mentioning the fact that we missed the trip this year and that it is one of my favorites. \u00a0However, I’m not upset by that. \u00a0I am intrigued by getting a hotel in a month. \u00a0We talked about doing that a few years ago for our Grand Isle trip. \u00a0Then, it ended up being unseasonably warm that year, so we didn’t need the hotel. \u00a0It really is hit or miss, though, and none of us want to camp in the cold. \u00a0We will see how things progress for the rest of this month and into October.<\/p>\n

So, how did we celebrate the end of summer this year? \u00a0Well, in keeping with the theme of summer, we went with a laid back weekend with friends and family. \u00a0We opened the weekend with a cookout with Christine’s parents and her sister’s family. \u00a0In the past, this would not necessarily have been a quiet and relaxing dinner. \u00a0But, times change and people change. \u00a0The most stress, as it often is these days, came only from the news. \u00a0Hurricanes, earthquakes, politics, etc. \u00a0At least all of the bad news is made easier to handle by being with people who you love.<\/p>\n

Another lesson that has taken far too long to learn. \u00a0I’ve always been the kind of person who was more comfortable by myself. \u00a0But, that might not have always been in my best interest. \u00a0Sitting on the couch, watching our five children play (a bit loud at times, so we yelled at them to go outside because, in my day!), discussing current events with my father in law, and eating food that wasn’t exactly healthy proved therapeutic on that particular day. \u00a0The only difference this time was that I wasn’t antisocial this time around. \u00a0Hey, better late than never, right?<\/p>\n

I might be a slow study sometimes, but once I learn a lesson, it usually stays learned. \u00a0So, when Christine suggested that we end the summer with a beach trip, I agreed. \u00a0I’ve mentioned before that I’m not much of a beach guy. \u00a0I will usually go when we are down on Cape Cod because I enjoy all of those beaches. \u00a0However, more often than not, I’ve been skipping the trips at home. \u00a0While she wanted to take one last trip to Cape Cod, that trip was going to happen the following weekend. \u00a0It actually didn’t happen either weekend, but the possibility of the trip made the trip to Laurel Lake a decent second option and a way to hold me over until we get back to a Cape Cod beach. \u00a0At this point, it is probably next spring or summer, but we have taken more than one trip to the beach in the winter, so maybe this will be the year that we do that trip again.<\/p>\n

Aside from that, though, the trip to the local beach was with friends. \u00a0So, I got to see all of the boys playing together in the same way that they played with their cousins the day before. \u00a0This has led to games of Pokemon, promised games of YuGiOh, a couple of days of tossing a whiffle ball back and forth, and just an overall togetherness that the family hasn’t felt for a few years.<\/p>\n

Epilogue<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know that I sound like a scratched record with these posts lately, but I’m just in awe of how things can feel so broken for so long. \u00a0There have been tragedies for all in the family. \u00a0We are not completely out of the woods yet in that regard, but things have definitely settled down. \u00a0Those stress inducing events chip away little by little so you don’t notice the effects of each individual stress. \u00a0Eventually, it just becomes too much to endure and you end up overwhelmed by it all.<\/p>\n

As with most issues, you can’t fix them until you admit that there is a problem. \u00a0It took so long to even realize that something was wrong that coming to terms with the issue was far down the road. \u00a0The idea of therapy was considered more than once, but dismissed. \u00a0Looking back, it might have helped. \u00a0Seeing how this summer of togetherness has affected us in unexpected (but appreciated) ways, I can’t say that is so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prologue I said in the last post that summer was winding down. \u00a0We still technically have a couple of weeks left. \u00a0Well, actually, we have about a week and a half until the official end of summer. \u00a0However, last week was Labor Day (the unofficial end), and we are all back to school. \u00a0So, for … <\/p>\n

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