We checked into our hotel--the Stanley. It's the hotel where Stephen King got his inspiration for the Shining. He stayed there after summer season had closed...while the hotel was empty...and wrote his book in 7 days, after his "inspiring" weekend. The first night I was a bit uneasy due to all the ghost talk...and woke up probably 10-15 times in the night at various noises. I told myself it was the elevator or other guests.
We drove through part of the park on Friday afternoon. We ended up hiking about 3.5 miles in the mountains...gasping with every inhalation. That air is so thin!! We had such a great time being in nature together. We got a lot of great photos. We spent the last part of the evening at a clearing where the elk gather to feed. The boys were bugling and the cows were answering back. Sends shivers down my spine. I love it!!
Saturday we spent the entire day in the national park. But not before we gave each other Sweetest Day gifts. I got my girl a new shirt and a card. She got me Starbucks snacks and giftcard plus a very sweet and mushy card. I also got her a little 1-week cessation congrats gift--a new cuff from the Buckle, and a congrats card.
Back to the park....my girl's eyes were as big as quarters most of the day. I loved watching her reaction. It makes one feel very small to be in the middle of these giant mountains. We got to see snow on the ground, and on the mountain peaks. So beautiful.
Saturday night we had dinner at the hotel (waffle fries with blue cheese and bacon) and had several drinks. I drank just enough that when we got back to the room I could easily go to sleep and not worry about any ghosts.
Sunday we ordered room service and watched Castaway from our bed. We ate the best Belgium waffles. We got ready and checked out of the hotel. We had the ghost tour to complete our trip then we were heading home. The ghost tour was actually MUCH better than I had anticipated. First of all I was scared...and second I didn't realize how much history would be imported into the story. If you ever get the chance to go on this tour...GO! Most of the ghost stuff she told seemed too far fetched for me to believe, but who am I to say it wasn't true? If it was true, none of it happened to us while we stayed at the haunted hotel...THANK GOODNESS!! There was a Travel Channel (Ghost Adventures) show airing on the Friday night we were there about the "spooky" hotel...ironic. I have it DVR'd, but haven't watched it yet.
We got home around 11:30 pm and I had to be at work early Monday morning. I was SO sleepy!!! But it was OOOOHHH so worth it. One of the best weekends I've ever had. I'm so glad I got to spend it with my girl, and we got to share this very special place together.
I never thought it would feel like a "special" place again after going with the ex husband. I always felt like certain places were only "ours" and I could never have any of those kinds of feelings with someone else....but that's not true. Estes Park is more special with her than it ever was with him. What makes it that way? True love? Soul mate and wanting to share EVERYTHING with her? Doesn't matter...it's more special, and I'm glad.
Next subject...my sister....I had emailed her a typical email and thrown into that a one line "can my girl come to your house with me for Christmas?"
Her response:
To reply to your question about Christmas, I've given it a lot of thought. While I'm not sure how I would handle it emotionally and I don't know how I would handle things with your niece, those are just a couple concerns. It bothers me to exclude mom and dad. Part of the enjoyment of opening gifts is seeing what everyone else is getting. I think Mom likes seeing what we get each other too. I don't want our family to "split" if we can avoid it. Have you talked to mom about this at all? Maybe because of all the tough situations we've given her to deal with in the past, she is reacting and dealing with everything surprisingly well - better than I do emotionally, in fact.
I've been stewing on this for the past 3 days. It makes me angry. I don't know how to handle it, or what to do. I will take any and all thoughts/opinions. I am not going home for Christmas without my girl. They can view her as my friend, and leave it at that. Period.
My bday is next month and my parents will probably want to see me. I am going to tell them that is fine but my girl WILL be around, whether they choose to come to our house, or go out to dinner. It's NOT an option to exclude her.
I'm tired of dealing with this. I'm tired of pushing. It shouldn't even be an issue. It should simply be how it is, and not talked about.
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