Roughly two weeks before I turned 30 I decided that I needed to celebrate somewhere memorable-somewhere exotic-somewhere exciting. So we flew to Asia. On two weeks notice we booked a trip to Thailand, Singapore & Hong Kong with a train trip through Thailand and Malaysia thrown in. I turned 30 on The Eastern & Oriental Express. Yeah. We were fun back then. I remember holding John’s hand as we landed in Bangkok and thinking, “how did we turn into the kind of people who fly to Bangkok on two weeks notice?” We had crazy adventures. Amazing adventures. I should probably write about that someday…
At the end of that trip I said that I wanted to do something even cooler for my 40th. I wanted to go cage diving with Great White Sharks. And that was the plan. Until we bought a house. And had kids. And dropped to one income. So there I was a week before my 40th birthday and there was no scuba gear packed by the door. I needed to make a plan. So I rented us a cabin near Starved Rock State Park, about 2.5 hours South of Chicago. Certainly not the next best thing to a South African safari of sharks but it was certainly better than spending it at home.
I did love the cabin. Kishauwa on the Vermillion is an old boy scout camp just a few miles up the road from Mathiasson and Starved Rock State Parks. The cabins are spaced perfectly so while you can see the other cabins you can’t really hear them or feel too crowded. We had beautiful views of trees and grass and sky all around.
It rained almost our entire time there so we were particularly grateful for the added space and comfort of the cabin. We could sit on the porch swing and watch the rain in comfort.
The resort has no internet, sporadic cell phone coverage and no broadcast television. But the main cabin is kept open so you can borrow DVD’s. They had a huge selection and I spent one rainy morning watching tear jerkers like “Soul Surfer” and “A Dolphin’s Tale.” The babies thought my blubbering sobs were hysterical, “That shark took her arm but it didn’t take her spirit!” Since I was cut off from my main addiction-Facebook-I finally watched “The Social Network.” (Was pretty sure Zuckerberg is somewhere on the Autism Spectrum. I hope Canyon gets an Autism Super Power that makes him a billionaire.)
Sometimes we would go up to the main cabin just for a change of scenery. No one was ever there, especially at night and I loved sitting in the most comfortable leather chair ever while Canyon played with the fish tank.
The best part of our cabin was the whirlpool bathtub. It was huge. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of it. This thing was family sized and we spent long hours playing in rich bubbles baths. I had planned ahead and brought a ton of products from LUSH and Burt’s Bees so we were living it up in bubble land and colored water. Canyon would only let me turn on the whirlpool function long enough to boost the bubble bars into overdrive but then I had to turn it off. River and Raven loved sitting in the tub with me and splashing in the bubbles and then John blew more bubbles for us so we were totally surrounded. Canyon loved the tub but didn’t like sharing with The Babes so if I was in the tub with the twins he would stand in the shower, singing in his sing song gibberish voice. The room had a tankless water heater so hot water was never a problem. Getting out was because we were all having so much fun!
I realized that playing in the tub was probably the most fun River and Raven had ever had. Because they weren’t quite 9 months old and their world scope is a little limited so yes, splashing in the tub and having bubbles float around and playing with us was the most fun they ever had. What a crazy realization to have when you are reaching such an age milestone. More than half of my life is over and their’s is just beginning. While I spend so much time in thoughts of the past and nostalgia and concerns for the future they are just totally in the moment, living it up. Lesson learned, Universe. Lesson learned.
My actual birthday night I made steak on the grill and then sat outside by the fire. The weather had cleared up around 6pm and I had clear skies, New Glarus beers and my trusty dog Lilo by my side. I have fires all the time in the city but it is not the same as a fire in the woods. The woods are quiet, dark and deep. It was so dark out that I made Canyon wear a glow stick when we went outside because if he slipped out of reach I wouldn’t be able to see him more than 4ft in front of me. In Chicago it is never dark. Street lights, neighbors security lights and just the general glow of the city make sure that darkness never really falls. And it is certainly not quiet. Cars, trains, the interstate, sirens, neighbors, electricity-all of it makes a constant commotion. But out at the cabin it was quiet. So quiet that whenever my children would holler or cry or my dog would bark I would feel bad because I knew that it was echoing out across the landscape.
I managed to squeak out a Facebook status on my birthday…
On the grid enough to know you are sending me birthday wishes but far enough off that I can’t read them. If this makes it through, know that I am soaking in 40 in the woods with a fire under whispering pines, moon stars and planets accompanied by sweet Lilo and enjoying a new Glarus Honey Bock. Blessed be.
I am still accepting gifts in the form of Kishauwau gift certificates 
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