My "Weekend"

My mother is a teacher, and this week was her Spring Break. As this is my weekend to work (at 4 am, no less), my days off were Thursday and Friday. I took off Wednesday, as well, grabbed my husband, and we went to visit my mom for a few days. We live at the opposite corner of our state, so its about a 5 hour drive.

I have a truly wonderful family. My parents divorced when I was 12, and though my dad was around for the obligatory "every other weekend", Mom essentially raised us by herself. My maternal grandparents and local Aunt and Uncle also pitched in when needed. We're all very close, and I'm immensely thankful for them. My grandfather passed away a few years ago, but my 80 year old grandmother is still as active as she was when I was a kid (well, almost). I can't say enough good things about these amazing women (and man!).

We arrived late-ish on Wednesday, had dinner (homemade chili!) and socialized. Thursday we made a trip to the nearby big(ish) city, did some shopping, had lunch, etc. Friday we piled in to the car (JP, Mom, Grandma, and my younger sister) and drove about an hour to a city that is mostly Amish, with all kinds of little shops and stores and homemade food.

Needless to say, my diet went a little bit out the window for a couple of days, though I still tried to be relatively good. I brought home a jar of no-sugar-added strawberry jam, pear butter, sweet black rice, red rice, 3 different varieties of Amish cheeses, and a whole bunch of bulk spices. I can't wait to start trying them out!

It was a good couple of days! For the most part, I think it was a good distraction for JP. Though, now that we're back home, and the funeral service for his friend is tomorrow (on the opposite end of the country), I'm a little bit worried about him. There are plans for a get-together with mutual friends, and I think that will really help. They can all cry together, laugh together, and grieve together. I may be unable to attend, as I have to be back at work again tomorrow at 4 am. Ugh.

I hope everyone else has a great weekend!