“I have something planned for us when you stay here next week. It’s going to be fuuuuuu-uuunnn! Be prepared to get dirty and maybe a little wet. And you’ll need a change of clothes”
Last week was our annual co-habitation when she takes her mother and youngest daughter down to her brother’s for a much needed break. We had planned to go to the Poconos last Thursday to fish at the lake that Sheri grew up fishing on. I got to thinking what’s around the Poconos that we’ve been wanting to do that I could get dirty doing that I’ll need a change of clothes.
“Zip-lining?” I asked.
“No. More fun than that.”
What was more fun than zip-lining? “White Water Rafting?”
“Nooooo.”
That’s it, I was out of ideas. Apparently I’m not that imaginative. Those were the two things we’ve been talking about doing for years so I had no idea what else she had up her sleeve. I took a stab in the dark, “Paintballing?”
“We’re not in an episode of Big Bang Theory, Jennifer.”
I mulled over it for the rest of the week, bragging to my coworkers about how my awesome fiancé is going to surprise me with a Mystery Ride. Fishing was then removed from our itinerary so we’d just be doing the thing I didn’t know we were going to do yet.
I packed my bags on Wednesday to go up to the house for the next 5 days. Our reservation was for 10:30 Thursday morning and the location was just about two hours away. Sheri, for some ungodly reason, wanted to be awake at 5:45 to get ready. We nestled into bed Wednesday night and I feel asleep quickly now that I have ear plugs that work (Thank GOD). At some point in the middle of the night I woke up to be bed vibrating with her snoring. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure that Sheri was still sleeping there and not some fire breathing dragon. I would have normally tried to suffer through it at go back to sleep but not knowing what was in store for me that day I shooed her out to her daughter’s bed.
I am not used to sharing my bed with someone and as such I am not used to being woken up. I’m dead asleep and all of a sudden I feel a hand grip my upper left arm. Startled, I shouted and flailed about until I realized where I was. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I yelled as I glanced at the clock. 5:47.
“Geett upp!! Today’s the day!!!” She clapped excitedly. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“Mmffff” was my response. My head was already covered back with the pillow. Awake so abruptly I couldn’t fall asleep so I got up, got dressed in my crappy clothes, and took her dogs for a walk.
We left early where her neighbor called across the front lawn to her “Remember you’re not 20 anymore!” So this was going to be something physical.
We grabbed some breakfast at the deli where I was quizzing her about what we were doing. “Is it just going to be us or a group of people?”
“We’ll be with a group.”
I hadn’t shaved that morning. “Will anyone be touching me or grabbing my legs?”
“No. No one will be seeing your legs but you.”
I paused and thought for a second, “is it kayaking?”
“Jennifer, you know me and water. If I’m doing anything with water it has to be at least 80 degrees.” She continued “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years. Last year was about you, this year I wanted to something fun that I want to do, too.”
Racking my brain I tried to think on our past conversations. “Are we going off-roading?”
She smiled “Close.”
“ATVing?”
Her smile got bigger as she nodded. Her blue eyes flashed with childlike excitement. I clapped and jumped up and down. I wrapped my arms around her and lay my head on her shoulder and said “Aww baby. I’ve been saying that we need to make memories and do something fun. I’m excited, this will be awesome.”
It took us just under two hours to get to The Lost Trails just past the Poconos in PA. We were extremely early so we sat in the car and talked as we wondered what it’d be like. We checked in and waited for them to bring the ATVs outside. They lined up 5 green ATVs with a blue one in the front (for our guide) and Sheri clapped my leg and jiggled in her seat like a kid on Christmas morning. It ended up being the guide, two teenagers, me, Sheri, and the teen’s father in the back. I sat on the ATV and nervously looked at all the controls – I won’t lie and said I was a bit terrified and had NO idea what I was in for.
They gave us a quick rundown of the machines and then took us on the practice course so we could get a feel for the navigation. I pretty much was scared out of my wits. The second these monster wheels lurched over the small boulders I nearly lost control and ended up in a tree. It was so much harder to steer than I was expecting and I felt like I was going to tip over. To say it was rough was an understatement. I was going so slow that I lost what direction the guide and the two kids in front of me went. We were getting jostled all around and I tried to focus on staying straight and on the path but even over the roar of the engines and the helmet all I could hear was Sheri laughing behind me. Less than a minute later we were off the practice course and our guide shouted “Alright follow me we’re going to the main trail!”
I breathed heavily, nervous, and thinking that I couldn’t possibly do this. I was in over my head, and I was going to be flipping over my head!
I struggled to keep up as we drove up to the trail. Sheri was shouting behind me “JENNIFER! GO FASTER!” I glanced behind me and she was right on my bumper while the guide and the teens were probably a ¼ mile in front of me. I was so scared to go faster.
We hit the trail again and we were bouncing everywhere. It was a steep incline, my thumb kept slipping off the throttle, and I swear at one point I was over on two wheels. This was the anti-fun. I thought I was seconds away from rolling over and off the mountain and getting severely hurt. Still, I focused on the path in front of me, trying to direct my ATV to the path of least resistance.
And then we hit our first mud puddle. Being 4th in line allowed me to see were the drivers in front of me were going and when I saw the wave of dark muddy water rush up like a wave I got excited. I gunned my throttle and hit the puddle head on and the cold murky water immediately soaked my shoes and splattered me up to my shoulders. A second later I heard Sheri shriek and laugh as she hit the water and got just as dirty. In that instant a smile spread across my face and I was all in.
There had been a storm the night before and there was a ton of flash flooding and run-off. These “puddles” were sometimes over two feet deep and the ATVs smoked as we trudged through them. The dirtier we got, the happier we were. Surrounded by trees on both sides we trekked up the side of the mountain (I was fully aware of what goes up, must come down). When we hit a smooth spot I’d look behind me and see Sheri smiling from ear to ear as she was getting rocked side to side.
At the end of the trail we came to an 800 foot tunnel carved directly into the mountain that we plowed through water up to the bottom of the ATV. The tunnel was pitch black except for the lights on our ATVs and probably 15 degrees cooler than the air outside. The echo of the engines was deafening and I wanted to reach out and touch the wet, cool rock that surrounded us. At the end we did a u-turn and headed back the way we came.
A little bit down the ways we pulled over to give us a break and walk around. We took our helmets off and Sheri and I wandered a few feet away from the group to look around the woods. It was so quiet you could hear a leaf crunch a hundred feet away. We were awestruck and said we must do this again but in the fall where the mountain would be painted with gold, red, and orange.
We drove back, making sure to hit every single mud puddle on the way back. When we stopped we had mud covering our arms and legs and speckling the exposed part of our neck and faces despite the helmets. Sheri was glowing and I was exhilarated.
We took pictures and then on the way home stopped at American Candle in the Poconos where we both always shopped when we were younger. Filthy and starving we ate at Red Robin where the only thing we talked about was the expedition and how we can’t wait to do that again.
The rest of the week our days were filled with preparing to take her oldest daughter to college on Saturday. Friday we purchased new furniture for her bedroom and I made a delicious steak dinner where it was just the three of us. Then her daughter had her best friend over where we made a fire and roasted s’mores. My heart broke for her as she stared past the fire. She was terrified of going to college and leaving her friends and the life she’s made for the past 18 years behind. Her friend hugged her close and she put her head on his shoulder. I scooted closer to Sheri as we swung gently and listened to the sounds of the crickets and katydids.
Saturday we were on the road by 7:30 and it took us three hours to drive up to UMass. Hannah kept saying “I’m going to throw up” and “blegh” the entire way. We assured her she’d be alright once she settles in and finds a routine. She’d respond with a whimper. We pulled up to the college and she said “I wanna go home!” but then we saw college kids jumping up and down shouting “BAND CAMP!!” She looked a little taken aback but maybe even comforted by seeing so many people who were welcoming the incoming freshman for band.
We only had a few minutes to unpack her stuff and say goodbye, which was probably for the best. Had it been more drawn out I know it would have been more emotional and I was struggling not to cry as it were. I know she’s not biologically my child but I have seen her grow up and blossom into such a beautiful, intelligent, talented, and funny young woman. I hugged her tight and we pulled away. I looked at Sheri who was holding it together remarkably well and said “I miss Hannah already.”
Saturday night Sheri and I were snuggled into bed watching Big Bang Theory and it was quiet. I missed Hannah’s laugh and her spouting out the most random and useless facts. I was also thanking my lucky stars that I happened to fall into this wonderful family who has welcomed me with open arms (once they found out about me). I curled up next to Sheri and maybe it was because I was exhausted from the week, or maybe it was because I was so content, but I fell into a deep sleep. Apparently so deep that Sheri even heard me snoring a little in the morning.
We painted Hannah’s room and moved Sheri’s bedroom furniture in there in preparation for redoing her bedroom. We’re painting, getting new carpet, and all new furniture. And now when Hannah comes home from college she’ll have a real grown up bedroom (that she better keep clean. I have already warned her).
I went home Sunday afternoon and took a shower and sat on my couch. I texted Sheri that I almost wanted to get back in my car and drive back up there. I have enjoyed staying with her so much this past month that I think my fears of us living together are completely unfounded. We have so much we want to do to make that house our home, and now knowing that I can sleep next to her and not want to smother her with a pillow is a big saving grace.
I’m excited for what our next chapter holds. I just want to hurry it up and have it be here already.
Last week was our annual co-habitation when she takes her mother and youngest daughter down to her brother’s for a much needed break. We had planned to go to the Poconos last Thursday to fish at the lake that Sheri grew up fishing on. I got to thinking what’s around the Poconos that we’ve been wanting to do that I could get dirty doing that I’ll need a change of clothes.
“Zip-lining?” I asked.
“No. More fun than that.”
What was more fun than zip-lining? “White Water Rafting?”
“Nooooo.”
That’s it, I was out of ideas. Apparently I’m not that imaginative. Those were the two things we’ve been talking about doing for years so I had no idea what else she had up her sleeve. I took a stab in the dark, “Paintballing?”
“We’re not in an episode of Big Bang Theory, Jennifer.”
I mulled over it for the rest of the week, bragging to my coworkers about how my awesome fiancé is going to surprise me with a Mystery Ride. Fishing was then removed from our itinerary so we’d just be doing the thing I didn’t know we were going to do yet.
I packed my bags on Wednesday to go up to the house for the next 5 days. Our reservation was for 10:30 Thursday morning and the location was just about two hours away. Sheri, for some ungodly reason, wanted to be awake at 5:45 to get ready. We nestled into bed Wednesday night and I feel asleep quickly now that I have ear plugs that work (Thank GOD). At some point in the middle of the night I woke up to be bed vibrating with her snoring. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure that Sheri was still sleeping there and not some fire breathing dragon. I would have normally tried to suffer through it at go back to sleep but not knowing what was in store for me that day I shooed her out to her daughter’s bed.
I am not used to sharing my bed with someone and as such I am not used to being woken up. I’m dead asleep and all of a sudden I feel a hand grip my upper left arm. Startled, I shouted and flailed about until I realized where I was. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I yelled as I glanced at the clock. 5:47.
“Geett upp!! Today’s the day!!!” She clapped excitedly. “I’m going to take a shower.”
“Mmffff” was my response. My head was already covered back with the pillow. Awake so abruptly I couldn’t fall asleep so I got up, got dressed in my crappy clothes, and took her dogs for a walk.
We left early where her neighbor called across the front lawn to her “Remember you’re not 20 anymore!” So this was going to be something physical.
We grabbed some breakfast at the deli where I was quizzing her about what we were doing. “Is it just going to be us or a group of people?”
“We’ll be with a group.”
I hadn’t shaved that morning. “Will anyone be touching me or grabbing my legs?”
“No. No one will be seeing your legs but you.”
I paused and thought for a second, “is it kayaking?”
“Jennifer, you know me and water. If I’m doing anything with water it has to be at least 80 degrees.” She continued “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for years. Last year was about you, this year I wanted to something fun that I want to do, too.”
Racking my brain I tried to think on our past conversations. “Are we going off-roading?”
She smiled “Close.”
“ATVing?”
Her smile got bigger as she nodded. Her blue eyes flashed with childlike excitement. I clapped and jumped up and down. I wrapped my arms around her and lay my head on her shoulder and said “Aww baby. I’ve been saying that we need to make memories and do something fun. I’m excited, this will be awesome.”
It took us just under two hours to get to The Lost Trails just past the Poconos in PA. We were extremely early so we sat in the car and talked as we wondered what it’d be like. We checked in and waited for them to bring the ATVs outside. They lined up 5 green ATVs with a blue one in the front (for our guide) and Sheri clapped my leg and jiggled in her seat like a kid on Christmas morning. It ended up being the guide, two teenagers, me, Sheri, and the teen’s father in the back. I sat on the ATV and nervously looked at all the controls – I won’t lie and said I was a bit terrified and had NO idea what I was in for.
They gave us a quick rundown of the machines and then took us on the practice course so we could get a feel for the navigation. I pretty much was scared out of my wits. The second these monster wheels lurched over the small boulders I nearly lost control and ended up in a tree. It was so much harder to steer than I was expecting and I felt like I was going to tip over. To say it was rough was an understatement. I was going so slow that I lost what direction the guide and the two kids in front of me went. We were getting jostled all around and I tried to focus on staying straight and on the path but even over the roar of the engines and the helmet all I could hear was Sheri laughing behind me. Less than a minute later we were off the practice course and our guide shouted “Alright follow me we’re going to the main trail!”
I breathed heavily, nervous, and thinking that I couldn’t possibly do this. I was in over my head, and I was going to be flipping over my head!
I struggled to keep up as we drove up to the trail. Sheri was shouting behind me “JENNIFER! GO FASTER!” I glanced behind me and she was right on my bumper while the guide and the teens were probably a ¼ mile in front of me. I was so scared to go faster.
We hit the trail again and we were bouncing everywhere. It was a steep incline, my thumb kept slipping off the throttle, and I swear at one point I was over on two wheels. This was the anti-fun. I thought I was seconds away from rolling over and off the mountain and getting severely hurt. Still, I focused on the path in front of me, trying to direct my ATV to the path of least resistance.
And then we hit our first mud puddle. Being 4th in line allowed me to see were the drivers in front of me were going and when I saw the wave of dark muddy water rush up like a wave I got excited. I gunned my throttle and hit the puddle head on and the cold murky water immediately soaked my shoes and splattered me up to my shoulders. A second later I heard Sheri shriek and laugh as she hit the water and got just as dirty. In that instant a smile spread across my face and I was all in.
There had been a storm the night before and there was a ton of flash flooding and run-off. These “puddles” were sometimes over two feet deep and the ATVs smoked as we trudged through them. The dirtier we got, the happier we were. Surrounded by trees on both sides we trekked up the side of the mountain (I was fully aware of what goes up, must come down). When we hit a smooth spot I’d look behind me and see Sheri smiling from ear to ear as she was getting rocked side to side.
At the end of the trail we came to an 800 foot tunnel carved directly into the mountain that we plowed through water up to the bottom of the ATV. The tunnel was pitch black except for the lights on our ATVs and probably 15 degrees cooler than the air outside. The echo of the engines was deafening and I wanted to reach out and touch the wet, cool rock that surrounded us. At the end we did a u-turn and headed back the way we came.
A little bit down the ways we pulled over to give us a break and walk around. We took our helmets off and Sheri and I wandered a few feet away from the group to look around the woods. It was so quiet you could hear a leaf crunch a hundred feet away. We were awestruck and said we must do this again but in the fall where the mountain would be painted with gold, red, and orange.
We drove back, making sure to hit every single mud puddle on the way back. When we stopped we had mud covering our arms and legs and speckling the exposed part of our neck and faces despite the helmets. Sheri was glowing and I was exhilarated.
We took pictures and then on the way home stopped at American Candle in the Poconos where we both always shopped when we were younger. Filthy and starving we ate at Red Robin where the only thing we talked about was the expedition and how we can’t wait to do that again.
The rest of the week our days were filled with preparing to take her oldest daughter to college on Saturday. Friday we purchased new furniture for her bedroom and I made a delicious steak dinner where it was just the three of us. Then her daughter had her best friend over where we made a fire and roasted s’mores. My heart broke for her as she stared past the fire. She was terrified of going to college and leaving her friends and the life she’s made for the past 18 years behind. Her friend hugged her close and she put her head on his shoulder. I scooted closer to Sheri as we swung gently and listened to the sounds of the crickets and katydids.
Saturday we were on the road by 7:30 and it took us three hours to drive up to UMass. Hannah kept saying “I’m going to throw up” and “blegh” the entire way. We assured her she’d be alright once she settles in and finds a routine. She’d respond with a whimper. We pulled up to the college and she said “I wanna go home!” but then we saw college kids jumping up and down shouting “BAND CAMP!!” She looked a little taken aback but maybe even comforted by seeing so many people who were welcoming the incoming freshman for band.
We only had a few minutes to unpack her stuff and say goodbye, which was probably for the best. Had it been more drawn out I know it would have been more emotional and I was struggling not to cry as it were. I know she’s not biologically my child but I have seen her grow up and blossom into such a beautiful, intelligent, talented, and funny young woman. I hugged her tight and we pulled away. I looked at Sheri who was holding it together remarkably well and said “I miss Hannah already.”
Saturday night Sheri and I were snuggled into bed watching Big Bang Theory and it was quiet. I missed Hannah’s laugh and her spouting out the most random and useless facts. I was also thanking my lucky stars that I happened to fall into this wonderful family who has welcomed me with open arms (once they found out about me). I curled up next to Sheri and maybe it was because I was exhausted from the week, or maybe it was because I was so content, but I fell into a deep sleep. Apparently so deep that Sheri even heard me snoring a little in the morning.
We painted Hannah’s room and moved Sheri’s bedroom furniture in there in preparation for redoing her bedroom. We’re painting, getting new carpet, and all new furniture. And now when Hannah comes home from college she’ll have a real grown up bedroom (that she better keep clean. I have already warned her).
I went home Sunday afternoon and took a shower and sat on my couch. I texted Sheri that I almost wanted to get back in my car and drive back up there. I have enjoyed staying with her so much this past month that I think my fears of us living together are completely unfounded. We have so much we want to do to make that house our home, and now knowing that I can sleep next to her and not want to smother her with a pillow is a big saving grace.
I’m excited for what our next chapter holds. I just want to hurry it up and have it be here already.
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