At home with Mom

Immediately after the wedding I drove up to the Wilsons Mills house with my Mom.  Oh, we had a post wedding dinner with every one...and then drove over to Wilsons Mills.  I relied on my Mother's directions and we almost ended up in Canada.  No joke.  Luckily we caught the error and turned around.  

I got to see my Mom's house again and see her collection growing...

I got to see all of my kid's art work and pictures up around her home...

I got to visit and soak up my Mother and youngest brother, Oliver.

I got to see her gigantic dog, Babe...

I got to see her chickens...inside the house and out...

I got some extra time with my sisters...I miss them all so much!

I got to meet Travis, Camie's new husband.  Truth be told, I knew Travis from our high school years.  He and Camie had been best friends.  They lost touch over the years and reconnected a little bit ago.  They decided they loved each other all along and should just get married.  They have been living happily ever after since March.  He is absolutely fantastic.

It was blood sucking fly season in Maine.  The weather was perfect!  Not to hot and muggy with a nice breeze every day.  BUT the black flies, mosquitoes, noseeums and ticks were out in droves.  Ticks weren't really a problem as we didn't venture into the woods.  But if you stepped out side for a second you'd be swallowed up by all of the flying, blood sucking bugs out there.  Maine, the way life should be?  I did get to go on an early morning walk with my Mom before the heat and bugs were out.

I also got loaded up with lilacs, rhubarb and Hawthorne branches to bring home to show my kids.

A word about Oliver:

Growing up I was his biggest champion.  He was born when I was eight and I was in love from the moment I saw him.  I helped with his care and entertained him endlessly.  I know all of the words to most Disney movies because of Oliver.  It is a skill I frequently use to entertain myself.

When I moved away for College it broke my heart to leave Oliver behind.  I still saw him and got loves from him in the form of him putting his hand on my forehead and bringing his forehead to touch his hand too.

But getting married and moving away has made my time with Oliver nonexistent.  How could he remember me when I'm never around?

Anyway, I rented a fancy car for my trip to Maine.  Really, I rented a regular car but when I got to the rental counter they only had 2 cars...a Ford Mustang and a Mercedes SUV...I picked the SUV.  It was the fanciest car I've ever, ever, ever been in!  After the wedding we picked Oliver up at his day nurse's house.  Oliver hooted and giggled the whole way home.  He loved that car!  The next morning he tried to get my mom to take him out for a drive in the car again.  We finally figured out why he loved the car so much.  It had a rear view back up camera and navigation screen in the front dash console.  Oliver had a special picture he had torn out of a magazine of a car with that kind of screen.  He loved it!

But the bigger deal came the first night I was home with Mom and Oliver.  Mom had gotten Oliver all ready for bed.  He had been casually avoiding me all evening.  He doesn't like change or disorder and new people living in his home are both change and disorder.  Anyway, Mom said good night and Oliver put his hand up to do his forehead-love-trick.  Mom got her love, then he put his hand up in my direction.  I brought my forehead down to his hand, he held his head there for a second and then turned and kissed my cheek.  I told him good night and I love you, walked out and burst into tears.  I am crying typing all this too.  It made my heart so happy to know he does remember me...even if it has been years!  He sure is a special guy in our family and it makes my heart pitter patter to know I might be special to him too.