weekend recap....

Charlotte Claire and Camille with their favorite Mama.

Some of the pistols on display at the Gettysburg museum. To me, a gun is a gun, but these were quite cool, being so old. And there were so many different types because they weren't just issued by the military, they were brought from home by the soldiers. Paul was more interested in battle strategies, I was drawn to the things like the pottery that had been scattered on a resident's lawn by confederates who took over the house during their brief occupation. Sometimes the Southerners tried to pay for the food and rations they took as they marched north...with confederate money. Anyway...this battleground hosted three days of suffering. 51,000 casualties. Of the wounded, I doubt many survived. No antibiotics in those days, limbs were sawed off in the most barbaric way. One thing I saw was a watch fob carved out of soup bones....long days and months spent in a prison-of-war camp. I saw a wooden tag that had been attached with a leather string to a fallen soldier...his dear friend made it and put it on him so his body could be identified on the battlefield. I read that the soldiers were writing their own names on the backs of their shirts before they charged, so they could be identified if they didn't make it. So as I yawned and got confused about those skirmishes and battles and attacks and directions and charges that so enthralled my husband, I did feel incredibly emotional and intrigued by the suffering and the loss. And I thought how stupid men are.

This...was sad.

Twenty years old. We were at the National Cemetery:(

Sad.

And the battlefields...Paul standing where the Union army was holding ground...from behind him came the confederates...across that field...

Paul...on Little Round Top. I would not have wanted to defend it, nor storm it.

To add to the authenticity, a few actors playing their parts all too well.

It WAS a beautiful day...sunny and warm...short sleeves for us Northerners.

The young and lovely mom....

Sunday's weather was not so pleasant...that didn't stop Paul. That red blur is him. I took the picture from inside the truck....

Waiting in the truck....yes, we brought our giant fan with us to the hotel.

This weekend was interesting for me. I find I still dread the physical discomfort that never really came this time. I get afraid that my feet and legs are going to ache...which they did, but just normal aching. Not that "I Cannot Concentrate On Anything But My Throbbing Knees" kind of feeling from the days of old. We climbed several hills, one was an upward path met by some steep steps, then up some more on the path. At the top I exclaimed, "What!? We could have driven up here?" Uh huh, said Paul. He has no idea. None at all. I mean, I survived, and felt pretty good that I did, I did a million times better than I would have a few years ago...

Then there was the Observation Tower. To a fat lady, the sight of that in the distance is fearful. We made it through Saturday without him suggesting we climb it. Then Sunday...we drove around more, visited the eastern flank of the battlefield...and we came upon the tower. I had been battling in my mind the prospect of six or seven flights of stairs...then I realized that I could do that without too much problem, and it might even burn off some of the rye toast I so stupidly ate with my bacon omelet at the Lincoln Diner that morning....so I asked Paul if he wanted to go up the tower. Now, the old me would not have done that. I would have just hoped it wasn't brought up. But...he didn't really feel like going up there in the rain, said he had seen enough of the fields from the hills we climbed on Saturday. phew. Okay. Not that I couldn't say NO, didn't want to climb it. But I always tried to pretend like I wasn't as heavy as I was. I didn't want to put a huge damper on everything all the time, so I tried to be game, and do as much as I could....while I suffered like crazy.

Anyway...the kids are on vacay, as they now call it. Easter Break. I woke up to Camille crying and crying because, "Char is being mean!" Camille was giving me the classic You Left Me For A Few Days punishment. That clingy whiny stuff that Mirielle said was totally absent while we were gone. So I gave her lots of hugs and kisses and read her a story. Today we are going on a trip to the small city to have the bump behind one small daughter's ear checked out. We shall stop at the store too, to get a few things. Some of the girls are going over to play with the twins, some are going with me. I need to get out of this comfy chair and exercise, and take a shower. Vacay, ha.