It seems the more we look forward to something, the faster it passes. Summer is gone and fall is upon us, but the faster time goes, the more we tend to appreciate the past.
A question was posed recently: what’s one thing you buy that you would never compromise on price? One thing you’d continue to spend money no matter how much it was. I’m not a big spender, though Rhonda would disagree, so I had to ask her what she thinks my one thing would be. Without hesitation, she said “Memories. You would spend any amount of money to create or capture a lasting memory.” She nailed it. A show? Get the best seat available. Swim with dolphins? Buy the way-too-expensive video. Unique experience? Buy the commemorative whatchamacallit.
And I have to say that this summer was one of the most memorable so far.
In July we took a family trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. I had never heard of it before, but it had come up in conversation several times in the weeks before we decided where we were going, and it turned out Rhonda already had it on her list. (Plus, we had already promised Daphne a beach vacation.) If you've never been to Rehoboth Beach, I would highly recommend it: clean beach and a boardwalk filled with arcade games, food, and amusement park rides. An hour south is Ocean City, Maryland and 30-45 minutes farther are Assateague and Chincoteague Islands, best known for the wild horses that inhabit both islands. Sometimes vacations are for doing and sometimes vacations are for being. But for a few precious days, we could be a family away from reality and enjoy new experiences together.
I wouldn’t say I’m the most creative person, but I’m very proud of my attempt to break the summer routine: we introduced a movie projector to the house and had fun watching outdoor movies. For the very first (of many) outdoor movies, I set up a drive-in theater. They drove their power wheels jeeps up to concession stand (i.e. the patio table), handed me their ‘ticket’, picked a box a candy, and then turned they jeeps off so that I could take them to their spot on the patio. I wouldn’t have guessed that one impulsive idea to break up the summer routine would turn into such a huge hit and as the screen grew bigger and bigger, one drive-in movie on the patio turned into countless outdoor movies with the kids (and the neighborhood).
If you're familiar with the book Life of Pi, you know it's a story about a boy and a tiger. (An admittedly oversimplification of a very good plot.) My version of the story is still about a boy, but instead, with another kind of tiger: Monroe's love of the Cincinnati Bengals comes from his love of tigers and everything orange from when he was little. The Bengals helmet was a natural attraction as he started to get into football. Earlier this year, some friends who are season ticket holders for the Kansas City Chiefs found out that Monroe loves the Bengals and invited us to the Bengals-Chiefs game in Kansas City.
While we were nervous that the kids might be too young to go to their first football game, we were assured that while Arrowhead stadium is one of the loudest in the country, the fans are some of the nicest. Boy, were they right. Kansas City reminds me a lot of Cleveland: easy to get around, good food, and nice people. But the folks in Kansas City are leaps ahead in the contest for who's more Midwestern. We, in Ohio, like to believe we have Midwestern values, attitudes, and cordialness, but after being in Kansas City for 4 days, it's absolutely no contest: they are some of the nicest and kindest people. The game itself was a dramatic one, coming down to a last-minute field goal. But the experience of being able to take Monroe to his very first football game to see his very favorite team, and to do it as a family was something unforgettable.
Things come and go but memories last forever. And they’re worth every penny (especially the free ones)!