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The Cabin

May 26, 2008 by Janice

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

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When Susan and I were kids, we dreaded family trips to our cabin. The drive took six long hours — which included two hours where the road snaked along a steep canyon. Doped up with anti-nauseants and praying that we didn’t fall off the side of the mountain, we would close our eyes and wait for the torture to end.

Once we arrived at the cabin, things didn’t get much better. We were roughing it — outhouse, no running water, no electricity and plenty of spiders hiding under the bed. And for entertainment we had to go fishing! (We did negotiate Oh Henry Bars, ketchup potato chips and orange pop to keep us nourished in the boat. But the fear of a full bladder while stuck in the middle of a vast body of water with an addicted fisherman father soured the treats.)

I will admit, we did have fun playing in the woods and the lake, but we always swore that at any second we would have traded those moments for a ticket home. Our older brother David and our older sister Carolyn complained too, but I don’t remember them being as dramatic in their demonstrations over the torture.

Although my parents insisted that the scenery was gorgeous and we were so lucky to be in such a peaceful place, the beauty was lost on us.

For many other kids, I am sure the cabin would have been a welcome experience. But Susan and I are wimps and having to visit an outhouse in the middle of the night, with only a flashlight and a prayer to protect from bugs and bears was enough to take the fun out of it for us.

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We begged our parents to sell the cabin. One time it even seemed like we were going to be set free. My parents had a buyer. The deal was almost made. But at the last second, the buyer pulled out and so on long weekends and summer vacations we kids were continually subjected to “the cabin.”

Over the years, my Dad would always say, “One day you will have kids of your own and you will BEG us to let you use the cabin for your family vacations.”

Horrified at such an idea, we would argue that we’d never do that to our kids.

But as parents usually are, my Dad was right.

Well partially…

Now, every chance we get, my husband and I pack up our kids and head up to my parent’s cabin.

(Susan, however, has only been to the cabin once in the last twenty years. And she has NEVER been there since the renovations brought us in-house plumbing. The long drive has still kept her away… which is a bonus for my family, since we don’t have to share it with hers. Carolyn takes her family once a year, and since David lives a 5 hour airplane ride away, he gets there only once every few years. So my husband and our little family are very lucky to have the cabin to ourselves almost every long weekend.)

cabin-may-08-004_edited-1.jpgUnlike me at his age, Jackson loves to go to the cabin. Of course his experience is a lot different than mine was. The drive isn’t bad at all for Jackson. He has a stomach of steel like his dad, the highway is greatly improved and he gets to watch DVDs to make the time go by. And when he arrives at the cabin, there is a fully renovated little house with electricity, running water, and a real toilet! He can even play on the computer and watch movies!

There’s no old-fashioned suffering now. I would have given up a lifetime’s worth of Oh Henry bars for movies and hot showers when I was growing up.

Sadly, my Dad passed away several years ago, before any of his grandchildren were born. He never had the thrill of introducing his grandkids to his favorite spot in the world. He never got to load them up with junk food and teach them how to fish.

But looking back, I now appreciate the cabin and the family memories we created there. (Despite the rough conditions, I suppose we kids did have lots of fun. Staying up late playing UNO and Monopoly then waking up to blueberry pancakes and those little cereal boxes that you cut open and eat out of like a bowl.)

Now I love going to the cabin! I am old enough to appreciate the beauty and the isolation. And with all the luxurious additions to our “wilderness” experience, I don’t have to suffer at all. Ladies, once we get a phone connection and wireless, I will want to stay up there for weeks at a time.

“Becoming” our parents is bizarre isn’t it? Some of the very things that I resented my dad for — the cabin and his obsession with taking thousands of photos of us — are now some of my favorite things. What my dad would say if he could see me buckling up my son’s life-jacket to send him out fishing with his father and taking a hundred pictures of it all.

Yes, this apple is right under the tree.

Here are some of my favorite shots from our trip last weekend.

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About Janice

Janice is co-founder of 5 Minutes For Mom. She's been working online since 2003 and is thankful her days are full of social media, writing and photography.

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15 Comments

  1. MerryMom says

    May 30, 2008 at 7:07 pm

    I love this, thought I’d share …

    The Quick Change Baby Crib

    Reply
  2. Gloria says

    May 27, 2008 at 11:37 pm

    Hi Janice,
    It is odd isn’t it how time creeps up on us, and some times kids do hold on to their memories, like your sister who resented the long drives. Some people just don’t like being trapped in a car for long,long,long drives. Others are the opposite, usually parents of course, they want their young family to visit fun place, see fun things, and of course ask, “are we there yet”? And of course like good parents, we also like fill our kids up with some junk food, and some reasonably smart food, so we stop off the road someplace and order some real food hopefully. But it all goes so fast, it just seems like yesterday for me, but my youngest daughter is now Sixteen, and rarely wants to go anyplace with her two fuddie duddie parents. Yes, that would be me and her father. But we take it in stride, and hope for a time when we can recollect on some of our long fun trips. Thanks that was a wonderful story.

    Reply
  3. Elaine says

    May 27, 2008 at 4:34 pm

    What a wonderfully nostalgic, heart-warming post. I wish I had somewhere to take my kids like this.

    Beautiful pictures too! Glad the cabin is still in your family… : )

    Reply
  4. Chesapeake Ribbons says

    May 27, 2008 at 12:52 pm

    Love the pics and posting! I also have been going to a cabin as a family vacation since I was 5. We go to Old Forge, NY in the Adirondack Mts. and stay on 3rd lake. I love doing this w/my son now! Since the baby is due the end of June, my mother has offered to take my son this summer on her own!!! For a week!? 🙂
    I will miss the Adirondacks this summer though…

    Reply
  5. One Mom says

    May 27, 2008 at 12:39 pm

    Interesting how life comes full circle! You may have had your complaints but you and Susan still look like you’re having fun in the pictures! And now you have a chance to relive the adventure through your own children!

    Reply
  6. Amber Stevens says

    May 27, 2008 at 11:28 am

    So sorry your dad missed out on making memories with his grandkids!

    Love the babywearing photo!

    Reply
  7. Jen says

    May 27, 2008 at 10:46 am

    What a beautiful story! My parents, brother and all my little family was sitting around the table last night discussing what we did as children. It is funny looking back at the times now but glad we all have those memories.

    The pictures are wonderful you have!

    Reply
  8. Nodins Nest says

    May 27, 2008 at 9:20 am

    It looks like such a beautiful spot! I would have loved that as a child and my son would love it now. Thanks for the great story!

    Reply
  9. Blessed says

    May 27, 2008 at 8:46 am

    What an awesome place!

    Reply
  10. R.L.Scovens says

    May 27, 2008 at 7:49 am

    I’m so sorry your dad didn’t get to take the grandkids up there! But the cabin is a great tradition to pass on!

    Reply
  11. Sarah says

    May 26, 2008 at 9:11 pm

    I have actually gotten to the point where I want the “cabin in the woods” to be my full-time life. But I have one question…ketchup potato chips??? That delicacy must have eluded me. Anyone care to enlighten me?

    Reply
  12. Kathleen says

    May 26, 2008 at 8:23 pm

    It sounds like a great place!

    Reply
  13. Monica- Paper Bridges says

    May 26, 2008 at 7:33 pm

    what a lovely memorial to your dad. I spent my honeymoon on a Maine lake similar to that last picture. beautiful.

    Reply
  14. Debbie Yost says

    May 26, 2008 at 6:53 pm

    When I was a kid “the cabin” was my grandfather’s house. He lived on a farm and there was no indoor plumbing. The outhouse was in the cow pasture and there was occasion when a cow would watch. We collected eggs from the hen house, made butter, went to the pond through the pig pen and caught lizards and frogs. Sadly, he got ill when I was in 2nd grade and had to move. The farmhouse is no longer there and I only have the memories. I miss those weekends and wish I could take my kids but that will never happen. It’s great that you are now able to realize how wonderful those cabin trips were.

    Reply
  15. Alicia says

    May 26, 2008 at 6:49 pm

    This was beautiful. Thank you for telling us about this wonderful part of your family’s life.

    Reply

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