travel Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Inspired & Strong | Making the Best of Every Day with Stacy

For the past three years, Gram, Jeff, and I have spent winters in our Florida home and summers at Gram’s House in Pennsylvania. We lost Gram in February and life just hasn’t been the same. I have felt lost and sad without her. It really hasn’t gotten any easier. I still miss her face and her smile. But it seems since she has been gone we are never home.

Even though we have always traveled with Gram, there were some trips Gram couldn’t do. So she and I would have some downtime at home. We would sit by the pool or the fire and watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. But since she has been gone, I have had more freedom to go and now we are never home. I am not sure if this summer is going to be our new “normal” but it has definitely been a whirlwind.

Since Jeff and I left Florida in June we have been going nonstop. It is one of the benefits of being a pilot’s wife. He can work from anywhere, and we have some travel benefits. We decided each summer we can try a different area for a month or so. This past summer we decided on Virginia. Over that six weeks, we had many adventures with the kids and created some wonderful memories. But we didn’t get “home” until mid-August.

We left Virginia and headed to West Virginia for Jeff’s uncle’s memorial service. Although the circumstances were sad, it was nice to see his extended family and for me to meet more of his family. The first weekend we were home in PA the family came up for my mom’s surprise 70^th birthday party, then Jeff had training in Kentucky so we spent a week there with friends. Then it was September, and we were off to Virginia for my niece’s birthday. On the way home, we flew to Texas to get Jeff’s mom and spent a few days in West Virginia again with his family. We met friends in Pittsburgh on the way home and went to a Pirates game. For the first few weeks, we were never home.

The next weekend we met up with friends from Chicago that were in the area and had a nice bike ride through the country roads before we drove back to Pittsburgh and flew to our Florida home to check on the house, run the boat, and have dinner with a few of our Florida friends.

On the way home, we met some of Jeff’s high school friends in Pittsburgh and had a great time catching up with them. I thought we were going home but that weekend we drove to Columbus for the Ohio State game. Again, never home. They won which means I am allowed to go back for another game. It was Grandpa’s rule that if you went to a Steeler game, and they lost you weren’t allowed to go back. Jeff seems to have the same rule!

The next weekend we were actually in our small town. We had a campfire in our backyard then went on a wine walk the next day. It was so nice to be around friends and enjoy the area in which we live. The next week my mom came up, and we drove up to Buffalo and the Falls. It really is amazing how many different areas we can get to within a few hours of our summer home.

The next thing I knew it was October, and I felt like I was never home. We seemed to have missed the summer in PA. Now it was time to head to Nashville for the Spartan race. It was such an amazing weekend with the girls, and I loved the Spartan race. I can’t wait to do it again! From there I went to meet my mom and the rest of the family in the Outer Banks, and Jeff was off to work. It was a beautiful few days at the beach with the kids. They love fishing and playing in the waves. It’s amazing how fearless they are of the water. My brother-in-law caught a shark, and they thought it was the coolest thing.

Sunday we went to the Steelers/Broncos game in Pittsburgh. Again, we met up with Jeff’s high school buddies. We had another fun night although it made me miss my grandparents so much. They loved going to the Steelers’ games and had season tickets for years. We also made it to a Browns/Broncos game in Cleveland a few weeks later where we met up with friends and family. The first time I rooted against the Broncos then I had to cheer for them against the Browns. But they lost and our friend, SuperFan, was in his glory for beating them.

The next weekend was a friends’ weekend and we were finally home! We met up with a couple of girls that I went to college with on Friday. Although I hadn’t seen them in a few years, we picked right up where we left off. The next day we went to my friend’s annual pumpkin party. There, we were surrounded by friends I have known since elementary school and a huge bonfire. One of the perks of living in the country. Again, it was so nice being around people I have known forever. That Sunday our friends from the gym invited us over for brunch. We ate a delicious meal and then played Sequence with her daughters and their boyfriends. It was the old fogies against the young bucks and of course, the young bucks won. But it was a wonderful Sunday afternoon and really fun to play a board game with friends.

We have been in our summer home for 10 weeks although it feels like 10 days because we are never home. Yes, our life seems crazy at times but sitting around doing nothing is not our thing. People ask us how we keep track of where we are going and the Google shared calendar is the only way we survive. We share Jeff’s work schedule, our crazy life schedule, and my social schedule when Jeff is gone. If we didn’t have our calendars, we wouldn’t know what to do.

It’s hard to believe we only have about three weeks left in our “summer” home. The weather is starting to change getting colder and wetter. Although it is absolutely beautiful, it’s about time to go south.

It makes me sad to think about leaving. We love the people in northwest PA and our time here. It seems wherever we are I never want to leave. And maybe because wherever we are, we are never “home”. I always want more time. I didn’t want to leave Florida for the summer. I didn’t want to leave Virginia after our six weeks there. I don’t want to leave Pennsylvania for the winter. I guess that makes us lucky that we have such beautiful, amazing friends and family wherever we are that it always feels like “home”. Mostly, I just wish I could be in three places at the same time!

The featured and fall images were taken by my friend and an amazing photographer. Follow her @momma_d.3

In May 2020, my husband and I were supposed to be in the British Virgin Islands on a weeklong sailing trip with friends. We planned a wonderful vacation and it was to be a break from Gram and caregiving responsibilities. Of course, because of Covid-19, it was canceled. Therefore, we decided to take scuba diving lessons instead. Since the shop had limited hours, and the pool was closed to the public, the owner was willing to give us private lessons. We did a few class and pool sessions on our own, then, one morning we had no choice but to take Gram to the pool.

Although she did not scuba dive, she had a great time watching us go underwater. She told me that night she was going to learn to scuba dive 🙂 (I love her sense of adventure as I am not confident that she could even swim now!) She also said she saw something new, and she was excited about it. I love that at her age she is still learning and willing to experience everything life has to offer her. She is such an inspiration.

For our first open water dive, we made our way to Venice Beach, Florida with our instructor. We put our gear on at the truck and waded our way across the beach and into the warm Gulf. It was a beautiful day, and we had a little break from Gram. We were excited and couldn’t wait to see what was underneath the surface!

As we descended, we realized the water was not very clear. We all held onto a line so we wouldn’t lose each other. That was our first lesson in realizing you never know what you will find underneath, so be prepared. We saw thousands of sand dollars, a lost anchor, snapper, various other fish, and conch shells. We did two 25-minute dives. Then we swam back to shore and helped each other out of the water. It was an amazing experience!! I was introduced to a whole new underwater world, which I had only seen on TV or while snorkeling.

For our second dive, we took our boat off the shore of Sanibel Island to Doc Kline reef. Our boat felt so small as we were 10 miles out in the Gulf. The waves seemed huge, and I was so nervous. I was very thankful we decided to take a break from Gram and not bring her with us on this trip. She would have been so scared.

We had to fall off the side of the boat to enter the water. I had practiced that part in the pool, but this was the first time doing it from the side of a boat. I was pretty nervous, but I did it. Check out this video. The visibility down below was much better than our first dive!! We dove down to about 36 feet. We did two 30-minute dives with a 30-minute break on the boat in between the dives. This time, we saw beautiful coral reefs, a lost fishing pole, a buried chest, schools of fish, and various sea creatures. I still need to work on relaxing and breathing calmly as my oxygen tank was almost empty after each dive. I also had trouble clearing my ears, which was pretty painful. I came out of the water with a bloody nose, and later, I found out that my ear bled, too. I hope my scuba diving career is not over before it even begins.

When I first started taking care of Gram, someone told me in order to be a good caregiver, I had to take care of myself first. I know that in order to keep my marriage strong, I must learn to balance caregiving with being a wife and a partner to my husband. And I need to realize it is okay to take a break from Gram. It is okay for us to have time for ourselves. As you read in “Yes, WoMan“, I am a Yes girl, but as a caregiver saying yes isn’t as easy as it was before. Arrangements need to be made, details need to be considered, and decisions need to be weighed. Yes, it is worth it, but it is definitely more work.

As a caregiver (or a parent or a grandparent) just remember you need breaks. It is important to keep yourself happy and healthy as well as your relationship with your significant other. So don’t be afraid to give yourself a minute. Don’t be afraid to take a break.

travel

Never Home

Break From Gram

Missing Gram

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Letter to Gram

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