Life and other things

So the weekend up North was fun. I laid down the Ground Rules shortly after we left the house: no talking about work, the house, the lawsuit, etc. and he was actually really good about following them. The drive up was long and we got pulled over for speeding but the officer was super nice and let us go with just a warning.

Fall colors were at their peak and the Traverse City area was absolutely beautiful. We came up over a hill to see Torch Lake with the colorful trees and blue lake and afternoon sun shining on it all and it was breathtaking.

A friend graciously let us stay at her condo in Glen Arbor and we arrived around 7pm and then went out for dinner. Our friends who were meeting us there didn't arrive until close to midnight and I just couldn't stay up so I went to bed around 11. The next morning we had breakfast and then headed out to the Leelanau Peninsula and then to the Old Mission Peninsula to visit the wineries. We even stopped at the Grand Traverse Distillery and got a tour and sampled some vodka. The wineries were a lot of fun and we enjoyed some wonderful wines along the way. That night we had dinner in Traverse City, after a 2 hour wait for a table at most restaurants. It was super busy but the main street had lots of fabulous shops to browse through. Sunday morning we packed up and headed back into Traverse City for breakfast and a little shopping before heading home. We got home right around 5pm and the kids were thrilled to see us.

A much needed weekend away...

Phil and I are leaving tomorrow after lunch to go up North. A friend has a house in Glen Arbor at the Homestead and she is letting us stay there for the weekend! This will be our first weekend away without children in over 10 years. Yes. Ten years. I can hardly believe it either. It's been difficult for us without family up here to help and we've finally found a sitter that everyone likes and we trust.

We will be doing a weekend of wine tasting and winery touring. I cannot wait!! I have ground rules for the weekend though, and I will make them known at the beginning of the long drive up there. There is to be NO talk of work, the lawsuit, the gas station, the house, my health, or anything else that has caused us stress over the last 2 years. We are lucky that our marriage has been strong enough to weather the storms but the stress has definitely taken its toll and we both know that we've drifted apart a little. I'm ready to focus on just us. I hope he is too but I know I'm going to be let down because I have certain emotional expectations and I know from experience that he's not going to be able to live up to them. They're not even high expectations! He just needs to relax and not be so uptight around me.

I'll let you know how it goes. We are going up with another couple so he won't be so pressured the entire weekend LOL.

In other news, progress reports came home yesterday and Emma's teacher wants to set up a meeting with us to discuss her adjustment to third grade. I'm worried she's going to say that Emma needs to repeat 2nd grade, even though in my heart I know that's probably the best thing for her. She had a crappy 1st grade year and didn't learn what she needed to go forward. I talked to her about it last night and she was a wreck. I had to keep telling her it isn't because she's NOT smart, because I think she is. I said it's because she's just not ready yet for how fast third grade is. She even agreed that the work is really hard for her. I really should have had her repeat 1st grade, I don't know why I didn't think of it then or why no one suggested it. She would be doing great now if we had done that. This is just one more way I'm messing her up. We're going to meet with the teacher on Tuesday and see what she has to say and I will, of course, keep you posted on that too!!

Gotta round up the kids, fold some laundry, make some dinner, do some dishes, clean up a bit and pack my overnight bag!! Yippeeeeeeeeeee!!