The Servant's Quarters

For the entire morning, I was afraid that we were experiencing our second down day of the vacation. No one seemed to want to do anything. We sat around, ate breakfast, and watched TV. TLC was having a Labor Day Marathon of a show that we really enjoy, Little People, Big World. We watched episode after episode while the morning slipped away.

However, after lunch, the day picked up. We decided to drive to Roscommon and rent canoes for the afternoon. Rita and most of the kids had done this last year and had had a fabulous time. Now, we were all going to make a go of it.

We almost didn't all make it. Christopher, who always struggles with new experiences, was nervous about canoing from the get go. He announced before we left home that he refused to participate. We all tried our best to encourage him. I chose to buddy up to him, telling him that I wouldn't let anything harm him and that I would be his canoe partner for the day.

As we drove to the canoe livery, rented our boats, and were driven by the owner to the launch site, Chris became increasingly nervous and upset. Finally, the first boat was in the water, and it was time for me, Philip, and Christopher to climb aboard. I put on Christopher's life jacket, and the stress of the situation finally reached the boiling point. He screamed, cried, and threw himself down on the ground. I begged and pleaded with him to get up, but he kept on crying. I picked him up and tried to explain to him how we could climb into the boat without any trouble. He was inconsolable. Finally, Rita decided that she, Aidan, and Olivia would take the first boat. She hoped that seeing Aidan having a grand time would help Chris out. No dice. He didn't care. He simply wasn't going to get into the boat. He was making such a scene that I was truly getting embarrassed and I considered backing out of the whole thing.

Then Rita had a brain storm. She suggested that we swap Christopher for Aidan in her boat. Since she was already in the river, it would be easy to do. She paddled over to the edge of the river, and I lifted Aidan out of the boat. Christopher carried on more violently than ever, but I ignored him. I picked him up and lowered him into the canoe. Then they took off, Chris complaining all the way.

Aidan, Philip, and I jumped into our canoe and followed quickly. By the time we caught up, Chris had settled down and was beginning to enjoy himself. By the end of the journey, he was a huge fan of canoing.

The trip was wonderful. We even pulled our boats to the bank of the river at one point so the kids could wade and play. (Mom and Dad took a much needed break.) Philip and I were the master boatsmen, finishing the course well in advance of the other canoes. We all had fun but agreed that we would no doubt be sore tomorrow.





After a very nice dinner of chicken alfredo, we went out for ice cream at our favorite place, Nibbles. Returning to the lake house, we put the younger children to bed over a family read-a-loud and settled in for some Yahtzee!