Fair warning. This post is going to be pretty picture heavy. Although we were home for Thanksgiving, we traveled to Pennsylvania Monday and came home Wednesday night just before Thanksgiving.
I won’t lie. I was very antsy for several reasons. One being that this was the first time we have spent the night away from home (out-of-state even!) since we’ve lived on a farm. I was very hesitant to leave my animals. I have a very deep bond with my rabbit and I was very nervous to leave him behind. Our neighbors did a fantastic job keeping an eye on the animals. They even kept Willow, our bunny, at their house and let him out of his cage for exercise.
The other reason why my husband and I were both antsy is our children’s great-grandmother (my husband’s grandmother) is very ill. We went to be present while she was signed into hospice and to spend time with her. We’re very happy to see that she was open to the idea of hospice and that she was in such high spirits. She was very clear to what she wanted as she entered this phase of life and we’re grateful she has the opportunity to make these choices as too many in our world don’t get such an option. Our daughter is one of granny’s biggest fans. Although our children don’t understand the reason for our journey into the cold, they embraced the adventure with grace (first time flying and leaving Florida) and were more than ecstatic to see their family.
We visited Granny at least once a day since we were there. She was in great spirits and was even up to a dinner outing with several family members on our second night there.
We took the kids into the snow on a small hike. It was their first time seeing snow. It was a great introduction because it was in the 40’s and the snow was melting. After spending time in nature, our son decided he wanted to move into the mountains.
We also had a small break on a playground, where both parents and children got to be kids.
We visited one of my favorite places to go: Gettysburg. I had to use the camera on my phone because I didn’t want to fly with my DSLR. So much happened there and although I love the rich history, it gets quite draining knowing what happened there and the terrible price many had to face in the name of war.
Both children were eager to know when our next trip will be. I wish we had an answer for them. I would love our next trip to be a warmer one. Like my children, I do love and miss mountains (never being one for the beach), even though I prefer the warmth of Florida. I was very happy to get to see Granny especially. She is a firecracker, but has always been especially kind to my family and to me. I have always enjoyed sitting with her and listening to her stories. This Thanksgiving, we were very thankful for the opportunity to spend time with family.
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