Car Trip Vacation......

As one last hurrah before school starts, we decided to take a mini vacation to Niagara Falls. We took the Northern most route and it took us about 16 hours total including all the pit stops along the way. Before we even left the house, the portable DVD decided to crap out, so we left it. The hubs and I thought, this will be a loooong drive, especially without it, but there was nothing we could do. So, we explained to the kids that it wasn't working and made sure they had some books and other activities to bring.
This trip was also going to be our first trip since we switch our diets to a more natural, whole food type of diet. We weren't going to be relying on fast food places for a quick bite to eat, so we packed crackers, bagels, cheese, lots of fruits, assorted nuts, some carrots, dried fruit, and a ton of water. I did throw in some lollies and treats I knew the kids would like.

We stopped somewhere in Indiana to eat lunch and in Erie, PA for dinner; the kids loved the picnic idea and we had no complaints about the food. We also didn't have any complaints or fights between the kids on the way, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the kids got along and behaved without the DVD player to entertain them on the car trip. We only use the DVD player for car trips, but this was the first time we had taken a car trip that was longer than six hours, but the kids managed without it. We ended up playing car games, I asked the kids if they thought we could find all 50 states license plates and so they had fun trying to find those. We ended up finding 47 states, the ones we couldn't find were Hawaii, Alaska, and South Dakota. We did eat at Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY and they had a license plate on the wall from Hawaii and South Dakota, but we didn't count those.
Niagara Falls was beautiful, we stayed on the New York side, but ended up walking onto the Canadian side, which I was glad. The car traffic to get into Canada was about a two hour wait - we only had to wait about 20 minutes in line and it was only a 15 minute walk over the bridge.

 This is the view of the American Falls from the Tower Wheel on the Canadian side

I think my favorite part was the Maid of the Mist boat tour of the falls, it was great to get that close and we got absolutely soaked. The kids laughed as the water from the falls sprayed all over us and it was something we will never forget. If we had more time, I really wanted to drive down to my old hometown in PA, but we only really had four days, not counting the car time. We also visited the Columbus Zoo and although it definitely beats out our local zoo, I think I like the Omaha Zoo better. The kids had a blast and really that was all that matter, I think it was great way to end our summer vacation.

The kids are definitely ready to go back to school and see their friends and I just keep thinking, where is all this time going, 3rd and 2nd grade!

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.” - Ernest Hemingway

Happy Kidney Day!!!!

It was four years ago when my mum and I went into to surgery not knowing what the future would bring us, and so far it has given us four more years of life for my mother. The journey to that point was long and my mother went through many things from not wanting another transplant to finally accepting this gift.



It doesn't seem that long ago when I remember finally becoming aware after the anesthesia finally wore off and asking tons of questions. "How is my mother, is she okay, did the kidney take, will it work?" And seeing the look on the transplant coordinator's face before she answered, I knew it wasn't good, they said it wasn't working how they expected, they weren't sure what went wrong.
I had no words, it definitely wasn't what I wanted to hear, I smiled and said I was tired, when really I just didn't want her to see me break down. I was angry even though they tell you this and try to prepare you, I thought it can't be!
I immediately wanted to see my mum, but she was still in recovery and I was in no shape to get out of the bed. I didn't want my mum to wake up to hear this, I didn't want them to tell her, I wanted her to hear positive news because I wasn't going to give up. My dad came in and I told him, don't let them tell her it is not working, don't let them say that to her and he patted my hand and said it will be fine. The recovery for mum after the kidney transplant was long and rough, she was in the hospital a lot longer than anticipated, she went through ups and downs, but eventually that kidney kicked into high gear and started functioning like it should. My mom is a fighter, she has always been a fighter, it is part of her nature, part of her spirit and she has been fighting for this and that since she was a child. We should have expected that this too would not have been so easy, but after some time, it has all worked out.
 
I think back to that day every now and then and am grateful that my children have been able to make many more memories with her. They don't remember the visits to the hospital prior to the transplant and sitting on her hospital bed singing songs and I'm grateful they don't remember those instead they have had four more years worth of memories and to me that is priceless and something I wouldn't change. I'm grateful for everyday I'm given. All too often we get caught up in those little things that don't really matter, but cause such messes and our focus becomes narrow. Zeroing in on the what if's, could be's, the have not's, etc....and then we are left feeling empty and unfulfilled. Life is a gift - and yes we all have days where some days are a lot harder than others, but it is not how you live your life that counts, it is how you make others feel - the impact that you have, that is what lasts. Slowly I am becoming more conscience of this, that sometimes life can break you, but you can either pick at the broken pieces one by one till you feel no more or you can pick up the pieces, accept it and continue to live and enjoy all that you have and were.

“If we thought of life as a gift, we might not demand nearly as much from it. And if we lived more graciously, giving of ourselves more freely to the well-being of others, many of our personal concerns would disappear, and life would become easier for all.”- Lowell Bennion

"There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections." - John Lennon