The last weekend of October we decided to take the family up to the cabin. The kids had a 3-day weekend (Happy Nevada Day!) which I mistakenly thought was a 4-day weekend, so they ended up missing 1 day of school. My high school and middle schoolers DO NOT like to miss school. It is such a pain in the rear to get caught up on missing work so it stresses them out to a near panic-level (cough, Anna) to miss a day of school.
We had a few purposes to accomplish this cabin weekend
O N E . . . catch a glimpse of fall.
The weather was just fantastic. Clear & dry. Mid-70's. A wonderful setting to enjoy fall!
T W O . . . chop some wood
Earlier this spring the power company came in and chopped down several large trees out back to keep things clear for the power lines. While it looks like a mess, the logs provided an amazing natural playground for Anna.
On Saturday the boys donned their matching lumberjack shirts ($9.99 at Costco! a steal!) and went to work chopping some of the logs that had been drying out over the past few months.
They looked pretty amazing! And they couldn't resist the urge to sing "I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay!" over and over again. We even found a plaid flannel shirt for Anna to wear among my mom's clothes in the closet, so that was awesome. They chopped a bunch of wood and stacked & organized it all into the wood pile, ready for the winter.
T H R E E . . . do all the cabin things.
Build a fire, roast hot dogs, binge watch something on Netflix, read a book, make friends with nature (Anna adopted a pet worm named Fred), visit The Red Apple for pie & apple cider donuts and drool over their pumpkin selection, hot tub, unplug (I was so proud of myself for not checking my phone!), and relax & connect.
F O U R . . . plant daffodil bulbs
Early on I knew that this weekend would coincide with the 1 month anniversary of my mom's passing. I also knew that I wanted to do something meaningful at the cabin to honor and remember mom on this day. I kept it on my mind for some time and finally the perfect thing came to me, ever so lightly. Plant daffodils.
In October 2015 my mom invited a group of women to the cabin for a fall gathering and they planted something like 200 daffodil bulbs. Check out her post detailing the event - so many wonderful details! And then you must see the Daffodil Day she put on in Spring 2016 to celebrate the bloom. Oh what love and beauty she puts into everything! I would have so loved to be there. Perspective & hindsight sure can tug at you after loss. She would always talk to me about her gatherings and say, "I sure wish you could be there!" Life / kids / school / distance always made it seem so incredibly difficult. And she understood that, while at the same time wishing she could invent a transporter to get me there OR her over here in an instant. :)
It was her intention to return each fall to plant more daffodil bulbs. Fall 2016 rolled around and her world was turned upside down when she was diagnosed with cancer. She also missed the daffodil bloom this spring due to crummy cancer. So, I decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to come and do the fall planting for her.
I think, I hope, she was watching and smiling over us.
For lunch we went to Giant Burger and ordered milkshakes and fries. Her favorite treat. Nearly every time we went to the cabin or she visited us in Oregon (Burgerville) or Nevada (Freddy's) she treated the kids to milkshakes and french fries. It was mom's favorite thing so it seemed fitting & perfect for this day. I'm pretty sure this tradition will continue on for some of these special/anniversary days going forward. Right now, I'm thinking through how we will remember her as these anniversaries come up.
F I V E . . . take a picture on the porch.
Because mom would have insisted on one.
Initially, when we arrived at the cabin it felt different. Honestly, a little empty.
Maybe it was because we were used to finding & enjoying mom's seasonal touches at the cabins. This time, the daffodils were still on the porch in October.
Or maybe it was because she usually arrived at the cabin before us and had everything fluffed and warmed up and prepped for us, welcoming us with big squishy hugs & excitement.
Or maybe it was just seeing all the coziness of the cabin and the decor and realizing that she wouldn't be adding & changing things as she always does. A still picture in time.
While it may have felt empty for a moment, we quickly filled it with life and the traditions of the cabin that we love and enjoy. The cabin did its magical, therapeutic thing and we were comfortable as always. If anything, this visit reinforced to me that we need the cabin. It feels like mom. She created this place for us to retreat, unwind, and build memories. It was her dream for us to bring our families over and over again across the years. We need the cabin and we need it to stay exactly how it is. Untouched, a refuge, to feel mom's love and wish for us to build happy memories.
I plan to come back often and do just that.
