I’m getting spring fever. Or it might be due to the fact I haven’t cleaned my travel mug in a couple months (and I drink from it everyday). Hmmm, I better look into that last one.
Something about January and February just shrinks my world. I tend to turtle up before finally poking my head out of my shell in March. Predictably, I’m perking up and having a look around again. My standard operation is to start dreaming about international adventures this time of year. Perhaps influenced by my apocalyptical newsfeed, (and possibly the cost of travel) I’ve found myself honing in on more local attractions. Right when I begin to lock onto some fantastical getaway idea, I remember I have two middle school boys.
Harrumph. Alas, the age of wonder has given way to the age of sourpuss. At eleven and fourteen, my boys seem to have found an infinite engine for negativity and pessimism. I’m finding my mind tricks of old are no longer guaranteed to work. I can’t simply rename something the blankety-blank of wonder, or the magical journey to mystery land and get excited trills in return. Instead, I get eye-rolls and head-shakes. Even food bribes are likely to fall flat more often than not. And not just food bribes, but honest to God dessert!
Last week, I popped the idea of all-you-can-eat pancakes at the local IHOP, just to get us out of the house, and my proposal was met with doubtful hemming and hawing. Pancakes! for goodness sakes.
As I skim in the interwebs for getaway ideas this spring and summer, I’m stumped as to how I’m going to sell these excursions. Mountain hikes? Too much work. Camping? Too many mosquitoes. Water parks? Too many people and too much fun.
I got one kid who’ll be down with fishing and another who dreads it. The other kid is okay with…nothing. I got nothing. Well, I’m pretty sure I can get everyone to spend a day hunting for star garnets in Northern Idaho. Other than that, I’m throwing butter pats at the wall to see if I can get one to stick. (Hmmm, I bet I could interest the boys in a butter pat throwing game, and maybe even a war. I’ll add that to the list of winter 2022 activities.)
I’m gonna take a stab at hot springs. We live in Idaho, after all. We got hot springs all over the state. As long as the hike isn’t too far, and the location isn’t crowded with naked, sixty-year-old hippies, we might have a winner. Keep it a day trip and pack a ton of snacks. Bribe everyone with dining out afterwards. I think I can make this work—for a spring break trip. The next challenge will be coming up with a few somethings to break up the summer.
At the Desk This Week
Wow. Just…wow. The world just keeps getting crazier. Could we actually use some of this madness as an excuse to come closer together? Have the Bullies of the world taken things too far? [sigh] I’m guessing probably not. But I’m hoping. I’m still hoping.
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