Family Trips

Family Trips are awesome!....That's so funny I can't even type it with a straight face.  Let me try again....Family Trips are......nope, still not happening.  Family trips, in truth, are a mixed bag and must be approached like a wild animal - with extreme caution. (Some might even argue not at all!)

We went on a Family Trip recently to the Chehalis-Centralia Railroad Museum.  I thought it would be great and that everyone would find something enjoyable in the experience.  I mean life is about gathering stories for your bag of life, right?  The museum is the 1916 Steam Engine which takes you on a beautiful 9-mile round trip through hill and dale. 

This is how our trip played out:

My son Sean loves trains and we positioned ourselves right behind the engine to get the utmost enjoyment.  We could hear the whistle, feel the steam and wind in the open passenger car.  He was so excited he couldn't sit still. 

He laughed joyfully

He jumped joyfully

He embodied joy. 
He vibrated such joyful enthusiasm it wouldn't have surprised me if he couldn't hold his body together in one piece any longer.

But the true heros of the day were Tak and Maya.  For I firmly believe that if they hadn't made such a valiant effort to balance Sean's exuberance, the world as we know it would have ceased to exist.  They truly deserve an award.

"Relax in the open car behind the mesmerizing sounds of a 1916-vintage steam locomotive". (From their website.  I guess Maya did some research and took it to heart.)

In the end Maya was happy (because we were leaving most likely) and Sean was sad because he had fallen and skinned his knee.  Did I mention the mixed bag, wild animal analogy - approach with caution and no expectation.

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy;  they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."  Marcel Proust

Thanks for reading!