The Many Uses of Tim Foil: Acorns

Vacations take on a different meaning when you put the word “family” in front of them. I’m sure my mother and father could have told me that.

As a vigorous and vibrant young man, I might have passed a week on a lake in Maine by sleeping off a hangover on the beach, water skiing, napping on a hammock, taking midnight cocktail cruises on the boat or heading into town for some alcohol fueled “locals vs. tourists” action at the pub.

(Mainers will describe visitors by simply saying that they are “from away”. They have also been known to use a term which seems to describe visitors from my home state but can actually apply to any tourist - Masshole.

As a Massachusettsian myself who married into a family of Mainers, I walk a very fine line on this issue. So far I have stayed out of trouble by joining with the Mainers in a common disdain for New Yorkers. Especially Yankee fans.)

Getting back to my point about the fun that a young man might have on a Maine vacation, the list of available activities shortens up dramatically when you add a 2 ½ year-old to the mix. Or rather, the list changes.

Sleeping-in is out. Getting up early and swimming in glass-smooth water is in.

Water skiing is out. Kite-flying is in.

Midnight boat rides are severely curtailed but mid-afternoon floats on an inner-tube with Littlefoil are in. Totally in.

Drinking is actually still in.

Sleeping away a hangover on the hammock is out. Rocking in the hammock with Littlefoil while he shakes off the sleepies from his nap is in.

There was skinny dipping and trips to the ice cream shop and in many ways it was the kind of wholesome summer vacation that you feel lucky to be able to provide for a kid.

No one knows how long we’ll be able to keep coming back to the camp on the lake but I hope and hope and hope that Littlefoil will remember something about this trip. Even a little something like the acorns he collected all week. He’s been hiding them around the house. So far I’ve found one in my shoe and two in our bed. I hope we keep finding them all winter long.