I'm not sure where the time has gone, whether I've been busy or on hiatus like a favourite tv show. Nevertheless, here I am back with some highlights from the summer.
Health wise, I've had a pretty quiet summer, which I could say is good. Some deterioration here and there but nothing "dramatic". My voice continues to wane and my words spoken are mostly unrecognizable. Arms and legs are getting weaker and I just "flop" sometimes. Back at McMaster in September so I will update further in my next entry.
The kids have been troopers this summer as they were paraded between camps and daycare. Unfortunately, as I require more attention, there is little opportunity for them to be home as Myra's time is stretched between me and keeping the house running. When they have been home, thank you to our "village" for keeping their eyes on them, entertained and safe!
Around April/May discussions turned to summer vacation and what we might do. As I am pretty much in my wheelchair fulltime we were somewhat limited in our selection for a family getaway.
Rewind to a year ago and our trip to PEI. We had stayed at my uncle/aunt's cottage, only a stones throw from mom and dad. We had a great trip and in the back of my mind, maybe my last journey to the island.
Now, nestled in between our 2 family cottages is a "cottage" that was built in 2008. We had heard and knew that it was available to rent. So upon our return last year I did a little search online for the "cottage" and found it. I arranged with the property manager for my mom and dad to have a look.
The next part is a little hard to believe...
One of the owners had been injured in an accident and the cottage had been built to be wheelchair accessible; elevator, roll in shower, ramps, and spacious rooms for wheelchair maneuvering.
Who da thunk that in our little piece of heaven in Fernwood PEI, on farmland that was in my mom's family for decades, a couple from Georgia would not only find Fernwood, but would suffer a tragedy in their family and still build a cottage in PEI. They did and I will be eternally grateful for the opportunity it provided us with to visit my "Home Away From Home" once again.
Back to our conversations around holidays, now late May and Susan asked "what should we do this summer then?" I replied "PEI", Susan shuddered and said "really?", I nodded and the talks began!
Now let's be honest I've always been in charge of logistics around here. Organizing, booking, checklists...it's me, that's how we've rolled and Susan will tell you it was great! Get herself and the kids ready, where do we need to be and when do we leave!
Well, obviously, things have changed. I can still get us through "Part A" of logistics but when we now get to execution I'm useless and Susan has to takeover! It's not one of the roles, of the many she's had to takeover, that she loves!
So with that, the planning began...
First, book the 4000 sq ft "cottage"(way out of the budget but authorized through the bucket fund!)
Next, transportation. We investigated flying but between worrying about what the airlines might do to my chair and then our need for a vehicle on the island, scratch that idea.
Well then, let's drive, road trip!
Susan was excited! A handicap husband, a 6 and 9 year old and 17 hours on the open road, a once in a lifetime family adventure... needless to say, talks broke down, next idea please.
Next idea, a hybrid. Fly the kids with Myra(my "manny") and we would drive. Still a lot of work, something missing. And then the lightbulb, the big one, convince someone else to join us on The Excellent PEI Adventure!
We identified our target, Susan's sister Jacqui, her husband Justin and the nephews, Jordan and Jackson.
We invited them for dinner, fed Justin food and beer so we could get him on board. Jacqui is the sober one with me, so I had to use my brother in law charm and weepy wheelchair eyes and within a couple of hours had them hooked!
We figured out the final details... Myra would fly with the 3 young ones and we would road trip, the adults and Jordan, in two vehicles, woo hoo! Susan's mom also decided to join us, but she was smart and also flew!
With everything booked we now had to focus on the details of the road trip. I had yet to spend more than hour in the Silver Streak so some long distance training was needed and how was I to be entertained for 17-18 hours? I put the call out to the "village" for help with the entertainment. The Silver Streak is not pimped out with options so we were starting with nothing. My chair is locked down, more or less, in the middle of the van so that was our starting point.
Villager D ventured into his one stop shop garage and pulled out an ipad holder that secured to the headrest and he also had the power source. The alpha test in the driveway was a success! Next, load some entertainment on the ipad. Villager Adrian helped with that and it was time for the beta test. Off we went on a little road trip, I was all wired up, and success again!
Now the road details... we were going to do the trip over 2 days, leave early Friday and arrive late afternoon Saturday.
Overnight destination, Riviere du Loup.
The only other critical planning was stops along the way, washrooms being most important! Without sharing any potty stories here are my provincial grades for handicap washrooms: Ontario, A, the new Onroute highway locations are great! Quebec gets a C and NB a D.
At one stop, the men's washroom was the only option. When is was clear Susan and I wheeled in. I did my business and we got out of there before any embarrassing moments. We thought it was weird that no one had come in as it was really busy. When we walked out, Jacqui was standing there with a grin, and in front of the door was a "Cleaning in Progress" sign. We laughed, moved the sign, and carried on. Aunt Jacqui is the best!
We made it to RDL, spent the night without incident, and got back on the
road early Saturday morning. My "driving team" rotated between the two vehicles with nephew Jordan keeping us entertained along the way!
We arrived in PEI around 3pm Saturday, no worse for wear, greeted by the kids, Myra, Linda and my Mom and Dad. My Mom commented on how refreshed I looked while the others were, say, a little haggard looking!
The cottage was beautiful... spacious, 5 bedroom, open concept, huge kitchen with amenities galore( 8 HD TV's and wired for sound in every room my faves!) I was able to move around freely throughout the cottage, get downstairs where the kids bedrooms and entertainment area were and on to the deck. My favourite part of the whole cottage, the asphalt path that led to the banks edge where I could look over the Northumberland Strait, and more importantly, be able to watch the kids on the beach!
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| our rental "cottage" |
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| The Family |
We had a fantastic week! Lots of family, fun and frolic. We hosted over 30 of the extended MacFarlane family(Mom's side) one afternoon and it was great to see everyone and we had a beautiful island day.
The kids were on the beach everyday swimming, exploring and searching for crabs. Being able to watch and hear was the next best thing to being down there with them.
It was a pleasant enough day when they left and arrived at the wharf. They all put their "slickers" on to avoid getting wet and covered in fish guts. Off they went on the "3 hour tour". All was well and they were all catching some fish, mostly mackerel. The wind was starting to blow, and as they once said in a TV theme song "the weather started getting rough..." The kids were getting a little bored and once you lose focus on a rocky boat, well that's when the hurling started! As the story was told they were dealing with 6-8 ft swells. At least half the boat were sharing buckets or leaning over the side, must of been quite a sight! The adults held strong but the kids, 2 were chucking and 2 were down and out!
They got back to shore safely and were all happy to get their feet back on solid ground.
Grandma fried up the mackerel and those interested dug in! I still hold steadfast to my personal motto... if it's from the sea, it's not for me!
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| Ben, Sarah and Jackson down |
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| Sarah and Jordan down |
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| Windswept but smiling! |
Now the "wedding" speech...
Susan, thank you again for having the strength and passion to get us all there. I couldn't do any of this without you and thank you for not leaving me on the side of the Trans Canada somewhere! Love you!
Mom and Dad, you continue to support us beyond comprehension and we couldn't have made the trip without you!
Jacqui, Justin and Linda, thank you for making this trip possible and joining us. We, also, couldn't have made the trip without your help, patience and injection of humour when we needed it!
And Myra. She spends the most time caring for me, good days and bad. She's tireless, compassionate and patient and gets me through each day with my dignity intact. I'm not sure where we would be without her! Thank you Myra for all that you do for our family.
I took a lot of deep breathes throughout the week capturing the moments and, at times, to keep my composure. I don't know whether we'll get back again, only time will tell. This I know, I love PEI. Susan loves PEI. One of things I wanted to see in my lifetime was for our kids to grow and love PEI. Though they are still young, I saw the glimmer in their eyes, when we there this year, and know PEI will be in their hearts forever.
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| The Gang |
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| Ben |
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| My Girls |
