Hello Neighbor!
My middle daughter turned ten last week, and she wanted no less than 50 friends along for the ride. I told her it was not happening. Like, at all. “But mom,” she pleaded. “I’m turning double digits. It’s a BIG deal.” I felt bad for her (sort of), so I told her I’d take her snow tubing followed by a late lunch at Shake Shack.
As promised, last Saturday we hopped in the car and drove to Blue Mountain Resort. Once we arrived, the following exchange took place:
Me: Oh my gosh I forgot my jacket.
10-Year-Old: Oh no! Me too!
Me: *$%*&!!!!
10YO: Um mom, did you pack my snow boots?
Me: (insert silent stare 🙂
My first thought was to blame everything on 2020, but then I remembered it’s technically 2021. (Anyone else having trouble remembering these things? #askingforafriend.) I called my husband in a panic and told him I thought we should just bag it and return the following weekend when we were better prepared. It was 22 degrees out, for crying out loud! How on earth would we both survive without jackets and my daughter without boots? Upon overhearing this, my daughter burst into tears, claiming her birthday was ruined.
My husband was unfazed (this kind of thing happens to him A LOT). “You need to make this work,” he said. “Buy two winter jackets at the ski shop and figure out something with the shoes. Do not—I repeat, do not—abandon ship.” So I gave my daughter my UGG boots to wear (thankfully I had remembered to pack my own snow boots), and we headed to the ski shop, where we purchased two cute—but very expensive—jackets. We then spent a wild three hours barreling down Blue Mountain’s snow tubing tracts, followed by hot chocolate in the lodge and Shake Shack back home.
Later that night, as my daughter headed up the stairs to bed, she paused to tell me it was her best birthday celebration ever. I smiled. Sure, the day wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty memorable.
Stay warm,
Kate