Our family needed this weeklong getaway to the Mountain, as the summer winds down. I know Jude would have rather gone to Santa Rosa Beach but Sewanee made more sense. Shorter distance to travel and the need for the boys - especially JP - to have a place to train for cross country made Sewanee a better choice, I think.
We had a great week together, one I will remember for a long time. I had to work more than I would have liked, especially yesterday, but we had plenty of down time. We played hearts almost every day. We played bananagrams (a first for me). We watched movies - Good Will Hunting and The Town. We all read, a lot. The boys finished their summer reading for MBA, while Jude and I read for pleasure. I finished The Topeka School (Ben Lerner) and Guide Me Home (Attica Locke), both good novels.
Every morning, JP went for a solo run and Joe and I ran together. What a joy for me, as a father and an avid runner, to see my boys up early and running every morning while we were on vacation. Really, for me, it doesn't get any better than that. Running with my boys in my favorite place in the world.
Joe's cross country coach set a goal for the boys to run 100 miles this summer. Joe left the Mountain, yesterday, with 94 miles in his pocket. After his three mile run at home this morning, he's sitting on 97 miles. Tomorrow, he will hit 100, and hopefully I will get to run the last three miles with him. Quite an accomplishment for Joe.
Joe's body has begun to transform this summer, as he's gotten taller, something he's been waiting to happen forever. He's thinned out, probably due to the running. On top of that, I can see him being more careful about what he eats, which is a sign of his growing maturity. My youngest boy is growing up.
We ate at our favorite restaurants. High Point, Shenanigan's (twice), Papa Ron's, Judith Tavern, and Shakerag. The Mountain Goat Market was closed for two weeks of summer vacation, so that's the only one we missed, as it turns out.
As always, I can't get enough of the Mountain and Sewanee. I would move up there tomorrow if I could. This house on Florida Avenue is my favorite. It's my third time staying here and it feels like, well, home. It's around the corner from the football field, which was cool since MBA's football team was at Sewanee for camp this week. It was nice to sit on the back porch and listen to the practicing in the mornings and evenings.
If I could figure out a way to take a year off work and live her, on the Mountain, I would do it. I really would.
For now, though, time to pack up and head down the Mountain.
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