To Be Fourteen ...Going on Fifteen

Fourteen has been an interesting year for us. While many of Little Lewie's friends started high school this year, Lewie finished middle school. I was convinced I made the right decision to hold him back (in pre-school), but as luck would have it, Lewie's three best friends all started high school, and Lewie spent his 8th-grade year wishing it away. "High school is way better than middle school," he would complain.

In April, he decided not to attend the 8th grade Washington D.C. trip because he refused to share a hotel room with classmates that he either didn't know or thought were too immature. He didn't go to the combined 7th and 8th-grade dance for the same reason.  I was just about to label 8th grade as "the lost year" until something miraculous happened.  In May, not only did he agree to sign up for a day trip to a summer resort called "Holiday Hill," but he also agreed to attend the 8th-grade dance and end-of-year picnic. Was there a chance for us to redeem a year that was despised right at the onset?

Lewie's Holiday Hill picnic, surprisingly, was fun. He had a chance to play hoops and volleyball and get to know people in his class in a more intimate way than in the past. He arrived home feeling like he made new friends--other 8th-graders that had been in different classes from him throughout the years.

His first dance was also quite memorable. To save money, we decided he could dress in his same white shirt, black slacks, and shoes required for his band concert. The only difference is that he told me lots of guys would be wearing bowties instead of neckties. (Lucky for us, Daddy Lew had a bowtie Lewie could borrow.) The next goal was for us to teach Lewie some dance moves. Both Daddy Lew and I gave pointers on dancing to fast songs. I showed Lewie my classic 1990s and early 2000s techno dance moves. Daddy Lew showed Lewie his robot-breakdance moves and had him watch some Poppin John videos. On a separate day, I showed Lewie how to "slow dance" with a girl. Remembering my own first dance in 6th grade, I told him I did all the asking back then, and I would have been mortified if any of the boys refused my request for a slow dance. "What's the rule again?" I asked to make sure he was listening.

"Always say yes," he responded.

"Yes! That's my sweet kid." 

These last two pics are from Lewie's phone. I made him share them with me!

On the day of the dance, Lewie was dressed to the nines. I managed to take a few photos from home, but asking him to pose in front of the school (in front of other 8th-graders) was off-limits. I dropped him off in the parking lot and simply watched him wait for someone he knew to go inside. What a big milestone, I thought, as my son disappeared inside the glittery front doors. Little did I know, however, that I had absolutely NOTHING to worry about.

My husband agreed to pick up Lewie and was the first to hear about his time. "It was so fun," Lewie gushed. Evidently, in typical middle school style, the boys all hung out with each other on one side of the gym, and the girls all danced with one another on the other side. "Did you do any dancing?" I asked when he arrived home.

"Well, sort of," he responded. At one point the kids made a circle, and some of the braver dancers showed their skills. (Little Lewie wasn't one of them.) The boys and girls never slow danced. Both groups were too terrified to ask each other. "No one asked you to dance?" I asked Lewie one last time.

"Nope," he responded.

"So what made the dance so fun?" I finally asked.

"We had Chick-fil-A," he answered innocently.

So there was the summary of his middle school experience in a nutshell. Yes, he learned all about "the birds and the bees" in health class, and we allowed him to watch some movies this year with adult content, but in the end, he didn't need to have a date or even a dance with a girl to make his night complete. All he needed was FOOD, which shouldn't have been a shocker since teenage boys are always HUNGRY.

To capture Lewie's last moment of being fourteen, I interviewed him before his fifteenth birthday. I asked similar questions to previous years, but only a few answers remained the same. 

Q:  What is your favorite color?
A:  "Purple...Well, purple and orange are both kind of my colors."

Q:  What is your favorite book?
A:  He didn't have a ready answer for this one, but he's currently reading Refugee by Alan Gratz for school.

Q:  What is your favorite cartoon?
A:  "Sponge Bob and The Amazing World of Gumball." (Truth be told, Lewie spends most of his time watching videos on YouTube; his favorite cartoon on this platform is The Odd1sOut).

Q:  What is your favorite movie?
A:  "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse"--Lewie didn't even hesitate to answer this question.

Q:  What is your favorite board game?
A:  "Slapzi and Jackbox." He's really good at Slapzi, which is a card game, but he also enjoys playing Jackbox Games on the computer; he and his friends play it almost every time they get together. We like to play it with our cousins Vincent and Jamie, too.

Q:  What is your favorite computer game?
A:  "Garry's Mod."

Q:  What is your favorite place or favorite vacation?
A:  "Home." Lewie says his favorite place is home, but like a true teenager, when he's home, he says it's boring, and he wants to do more with his friends. Oh well...none of the fabulous National Park trips I've planned over the years made Lewie's list. Disney and Universal Studios didn't make the cut either.

Q:  What is your favorite thing to do at school?
A:  "Math and algebra." (God bless him. Those words will never come out of my mouth.)

Q:  Who is your favorite teacher?
A:  "Mrs. Poulin." Lewie's band teacher in grades 6 through 8, won the honor; however, Mr. Ruhl, his 8th-grade history teacher, did get an honorable mention.

Q:  What is your favorite sport?
A:  "Volleyball."

Q:  What is your favorite food?
A:  "French Toast." (This answer hasn't changed for the last 10+ years.)

Q:  What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
A:  "Black Rasberry."  (This is brand new.)

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A:  "I don't know...something in the digital arts."

Q:  What is your favorite saying this year?
A:  I'm going to answer this one. 1. Everything seems to begin with the word, "Bro..." as in "Bro, that makes no sense," or "Bro, you should have seen..." 2. If everything is good or okay. Lewie will say, "It's all gucci." 3. If something is awesome, it's "fire." 4. If he likes a response or agrees to a plan he will shout, "Bet!"

Q:  What was your favorite moment as a fourteen-year-old?
A:  "That's too hard. There are way too many. Okay, sleepovers...all my sleepovers with friends this year were fire."

For Lewie's birthday, we took three of his friends boat tubing and then we had them sleep over on his actual birthday. (We had other friends and family members come over for his birthday weekend, too.)

A favorite memory was listening to Lewie's side conversation with his friends' group while I was taking them for homemade ice cream at Rich Farm. It started with two of his fifteen-year-old friends saying how much they would love to live in places like NYC and Washington, D.C.--two places that are only interesting to them because they went there on recent trips. Then they talked about what they would do once they get their driver's license: "I'm just going to drive and drive until I'm forced to stop. Yea, like I'll just keep driving and then find myself one day in like Arkansas or something." 

I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. Boys are so different than girls. They don't talk about girlfriends or who they think is "cute." They're too busy daydreaming about living in cities and driving until they run out of gas. (At least for now...) I'll be savoring these last few days of summer until the next milestone--high school.

Highway 12 Scenic Byway (Torrey) to Yonder Escalante

On day six of our Mighty Five Utah National Park excursion, we decided to drive down Highway 12 Scenic Byway to Yonder Escalante, our next travel destination. Originally, our plan was to drive straight to Bryce Canyon National Park, but somehow while planning our trip, I came across "the Yonder" experience and was hooked. You see, Yonder Escalante is not a hotel; it's not a basic campground either. It has deluxe cabins with panoramic windows, ten vintage Airstreams, and RV campsites--all connected to a leisurely "glamping" experience, which includes a heated swimming pool and hot tub, an indoor-outdoor clubhouse, luxurious bathhouses with heated outdoor showers, and a drive-in movie theater with nightly showings. If you're wondering about the drive-in movie theater, it gets better! There are vintage cars parked on-site with real working radios to watch the movie and a concession stand, which offers popcorn and other treats just before the show. The website made the place sound too good to be true, but in reality, staying there was just as amazing as our previous experience of sleeping in a teepee at the Capitol Reef Resort.  It couldn't have been more memorable!

One of the posh cabins at Yonder.

The trip from Torrey, Utah to Escalante, Utah was an hour and 33 minute drive down Highway 12 Scenic Byway (the entire Byway is a 122-mile route that passes Bryce Canyon National Park and the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument). Since we were saving the Bryce Canyon National Park visit for day seven, our itinerary for day six was to go canyoneering (you can read about our experience here) and then drive to Yonder to get settled in an Airstream, have dinner, and then take in a drive-in movie. It was an ambitious day for an ambitious trip but worth every second of our time.

Per usual, my two boys got comfortable in the car (and slept) while I volunteered to take on the driving, but no one could have prepared me for the Highway 12 Scenic Byway excursion. First, it is designated as an All-American Road for its rustic, nationally significant landscape and labeled as one of the best scenic drives in the U.S. However, when roads are labeled as "scenic," it usually means lots of vistas and high elevations, too. Most people who write reviews about this Byway praise it for the beautiful pines in the Dixie National Forest, the twists and turns through canyons, and the red rock formations on either side of the car. The road provides many scenic overlooks to pull off and is not too crowded. On the other hand, for someone who is petrified of heights like me, I was white-knuckling the steering wheel during most of the trip. First, there is the Boulder Mountain Pass, which is 9,606 feet above sea level and pretty steep with some parts up to an 8% grade. Then, there are other parts of the Byway that have sharp curves, no shoulders, and no guardrails.  The scariest part is called the Hogsback, situated on a cliff with sheer drops on both sides with no guardrails. (You can click on the Hogsback link, or this second link, to see two videos of this harrowing experience.) Most of the Byway goes through remote, rugged terrain (cell phone service is sketchy). I've since learned that many poor souls rent RVs for their first time and often take this route, not knowing anything about it, as their first RV driving lesson--I can't imagine their shock!

Once we arrived at Younder, I let out a huge sigh of relief; I managed to get everyone to our destination safely! We entered the lobby for the key to our Airstream and were greeted by a young, hip twenty-year-old--techno music pulsing in the background. The vibe was chic and modern--almost like a "W Hotel" in the middle of a rustic campground. We entered our Airstream, and this inside was also designed for comfort, luxury, and style. Hubby and I took the large king bed in the back, and Lewie had his own bed all the way in the front (per pictures). While I rested, Hubby and Lewie tried out the pool, and then all of us grabbed something to eat from their food truck, which was parked right beside their clubhouse. It was the coolest campground eating experience ever!

We were told the drive-in movie playing that night, Back to the Future, would begin at 9 p.m., but if we wanted to sit in one of the vintage cars, we would need to stake our claim early. Hubby chose his favorite (see picture below) around 7 p.m. and offered to sleep in the front seat to hold it for us. I was so excited about the whole experience, I was gitty with laughter. I couldn't believe we would get to watch a drive-in movie as if we were living in the 1950s, and even more, Little Lewie would get to see Back to the Future--a movie I grew up with around his age! All three of us carried popcorn to the car, sat in the front bench seat, and turned on the car radio for the most memorable movie experience ever!

When the movie was over, we had no problem falling asleep in our posh beds. Lew chose to take an outside heated shower at night and raved at how he could see the stars and the moon while soaping up. I took mine in the morning and was delighted to see I was sharing my morning shower with a singing bird above me. Was I dreaming? Little Lewie LOVED the drive-in movie but wasn't so excited about the outside shower and bathhouse. He wasn't thrilled to be using a public restroom, and he commented, "Why does the bathroom play dance music? It's kind of strange." I couldn't stop laughing! He was right; the bathhouse played this funky lounge music all day long. You could go in there to pee at 1 o'clock in the morning, and there would be a pulsing, rhythmic melody like one coming from a Miami nightclub.

The bathhouse

Shower in the great outdoors anyone?

I loved the plant and the rocks by the shower, too.

I must admit, I was a little sad to pack up from Yonder after only being there one night, but we had two more National Parks to fit in before venturing back home. Next stop: Bryce Canyon National Park. 

Grandma Dearest

My son Lewie is a unique kid. About four years ago, he started referring to hubby and me as Father Dearest and Mother Dearest. My mom, who lives right next door to us, became Grandma Dearest. I'll admit I wasn't a fan of the names at first, but like all things, they grew on me. Now I refer to my mom as Grandma Dearest, too.

Lucky for me, Grandma Dearest will be entering her eighth decade in October, and she's pretty phenomenal (knock on wood). She works virtually from home for about 20-25 hours per week, cooks, and spends hours outside tending the yard. She remembers every holiday, birthday, anniversary, and graduation, and she makes it her mission to ensure that all her family, friends, and work friends know how much they are loved. I often wonder how she seems to have twice as much energy as I have on most days!

Last October, I announced I was laid off from work. I hoped to find a job after the holidays, but January came and went, just like February, March, April, and May. With each passing month, I felt like staying in bed sulking over my fate, but I do know, in all reality, I have it good. Both Father Dearest and Grandma Dearest have come to the rescue. It's because of them that we can still afford to pay our bills while having a little left over to do fun things. It's because of them that I'm still able to attend job interview after job interview with my head held high even when I've lost all confidence. (Getting enough rejection letters can do that to you.)

It is for the reasons above and more that I dedicate the month of May to Grandma Dearest. The fact of the matter is that my mom has been there for me for my 47 years of life, but in recent years, I've been too busy with my own "professional career" to notice. I took for granted all the nights she made dinner for Lewie, all the holidays she made dinner for us, and all the home repairs/projects she supervised while I could put in long hours at work. I took for granted how often she helped set up and clean up after family gatherings. And I certainly forgot how often she covered a house bill without asking us to pay our share. The list can go on and on and on...

This month, I wanted to make my mom feel special, and since I had more time than usual, I scheduled three events (while keeping to a budget, of course). On Mother's Day, we had our special dinner at the Hopkin's Inn (now a family tradition). However, two weeks prior, we attended a performance at the Goodspeed Opera House (a first for us), and a week ago, we took a bus trip to see the beautiful Blithewold Mansion in Bristol, Rhode Island. My mom fretted over the cost, the weather, and her health, but in all areas, faith and hope carried us through. (We hadn't been on a bus trip together since the start of the pandemic in 2020.)

Here are just a few photos of our recent adventure to the Blithewold Mansion (with a stop at the Imagine Gift Store in Warren, RI first.)  If you haven't been to either, they are worth the trip. The Imagine Gift Store is located in the historic Lyric Theater Building with three floors of unique gifts for everyone in the family--check out the welcome (dog) mat below. The first half of the store is an ice cream parlor and a penny candy store (with over 500 candies). For anyone nearing 50, like me, do you remember candy cigarettes, Pop Rocks, or wax lips? They have everything--even when they are no longer "politically correct." The second half of the store has cascading umbrellas with tons of quirky, heartfelt, and souvenir items. We LOVED it.

The Blithewold Mansion is a 33-acre summer estate on Narragansett Bay with 45 rooms. Like most of the mansions (summer estates) in Newport, R.I., this one, too, was built in the late 1800s by a coal baron. (Remember, they didn't have to pay taxes on their properties back in the day.) This estate, however, doesn't have the "grandiose" feel like the Newport mansions. Instead, it is a romantic, English-style, manor house surrounded by a rare collection of trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers. (For example, their eldest daughter Marjorie grew several Giant Sequoia trees on the property--similar to the type of behemoth Redwood trees only found on the West Coast. My mom, who has never been out West, was so enamored by the size of the trees!)

Our tour of the mansion included a tea lunch on their back patio, a tour of the house (including a collection of dresses worn by their two daughters), and a stroll through their gardens. Having gone the first weekend of May, we had already missed the splendor of their thousands of Daffodils on the property, but we were able to see some of their other early budding May flowers along with their unusual trees, shrubs, and "Moongate" rose garden. The day, honestly, was as lovely as it could possibly be... 

One of the Giant Sequoias on the property.

These special days with my mom were needed--not only to remind my mom that she's still young enough to travel but to remind me that better days are coming; I just need to trust in Divine timing. I feel blessed to have this amazing time with Grandma Dearest.