New Years Tradition - A L-O-N-G Weeked at the Cabin

Does mercury even rise when it gets that cold? Answer yes. Just not very high.

This post is going to be like the coffee date I wish I could have with all my friends through out the world. I say that because it is going to be more whiny and complain-y than usual.

First a little background.

About 5 years ago Vince and Glenn bought a piece of land in the Caribou Hills. Then they built a cabin. In our area we refer to these get away cabins as 'snow machine cabins' because they are inaccessible by any other means than snow machine. In the summer the area is a full bog and unless you have 4 wheelers it is not hikeable. We have propane for the lights and a stove and oven. There is a spring that we get water from. We burn wood for heat. It is a very comfortable and nice cabin.

For the past 3 years we have been going to the cabin for New Years festivities. Glenn and Edye have always gotten fireworks and we make a bonfire and light off fireworks. Then, around midnight, we ride out to Caribou Lake where the residents get fireworks and put on a big display.

This year was different because Vince had to work and wouldn't be coming to join us until 9pm Jan 1 so we were going to celebrate with him the night of the first. I decided to take the kids out with Glenn on the 31st because I have never embraced the entire experience; I don't pull the trailer, I don't know the way to the cabin from the parking lot, I don't even really know how to turn the machine on. No, I don't really enjoy riding. It is loud, smelly, cold, and dangerous. It is easy to get stuck and quite a job to get unstuck. I enjoy trail riding on wide, groomed trails, but that's about it. So, I go out to the cabin and I let everyone else enjoy a ride while I stay behind making sure the fire stays lit and enjoying a cup of coffee and a book. I decided to go out with Glenn instead of riding in with Vince so late at night with the two kids.

As anyone who was enjoying Two Sisters Bakery the morning of December 31 can attest, I was reluctant to go. Not because of the cold, but because of the sleeplessness that staying at the cabin creates. There is something about that cabin that causes me to have to pee at least once, but usually twice in the night. Then there is the fire, that needs to be stoked a couple times a night. Then there are the children who also have to pee in the night and can not go out alone.

Going to the cabin, for me, means sleep problems, and sleep problems mean an uptick in seasonal affective disorder symptoms. I vowed to myself that I would not allow myself to stay out there if I was not sleeping because I can not afford to loose another week to that trapped depressed feeling. Was my pre-cabin angst about this healthy problem solving angst or was it stewy negative angst that leads to nothing? I was not sure.

Well, the minute I stepped out of Edye's car in the parking lot at Jones the teenage kids swarmed around. DeeJay and Willie had been out at the cabin for a night already and out there with them was Glenn's three kids and three additional teenagers who I will refer to here as D, G and R. I thought, "Eight teenagers and Glenn at the cabin?" and it was Glenn's middle daughter who spoke first, "Willie wrecked his snow machine!"

I said, "What? Your old blue machine that he was using?"

In a choral voice, they said, "No! DeeJay's red one!"

"What was he doing on it? I thought we were very clear that he doesn't know how to ride and he needed to stay on the blue one?"

"He wanted to go fast! We felt bad for him. You should have seen him he crashed right into a tree."

It was 6pm and I was already one foot into the grave of sleeplessness. The murcury outside may have been continuing to drop, but believe me, my internal flame way making me HOT!

Never mind that it was cold. Really cold. Never mind that mistakes happen and that the best way to learn is through experience. I have a Bachelor of Arts not Science and I am able to see the foreshadowing that life reveals as a warning from a mile away. Perhaps I should have just gotten back into Edye's car and asked her to take me back, but I was too angry to think of such a sensible plan. Plus Falcom and Marina were so excited... Plus I could not expect Glenn and Edye to have to care for my teens two nights in a row. Especially at their current level of brainlessness. I got on the back of a machine and rode to the cabin.

At the cabin, teenagers G and R were standing chatting and Willie was no where in sight. The fire was out. The cabin was getting cool. I yelled up to Willie (who was hiding from me) to get down and help us carry stuff in, while Edye was scolding G and R for not keeping the fire going.

Only having been at the cabin for a minute we were already feeling like we were having to be the bitchy bad guys bringing the party to a halt.

When we were all inside and the teenagers were all standing around I started asking questions. "Where is the hospital from here?" A: "I don't know."

"Do we have cell phone coverage?" A: "No! Not even text."

"Would you let Falcom drive if he asked?" A: "Are you kidding."

"Why would you leave Glenn behind with a broken down machine?" No Answer.

"Is there a person in this room who did not make fun of DeeJay when he was learning to ride?" A: "No! He really sucked."

They all had their teenage coolness and defensiveness, but they got what I was saying, especially with Edye standing behind me.

"Is Willie in trouble?" Someone asked. A: "You are all in trouble because you are doing nothing to keep each other safe."

"I wouldn't really call what he is in trouble. He and DeeJay will share the cost of fixing the machine and replacing the helmet." which also got trashed when he crashed into the tree.

DeeJay was hot as the wallet is the one place where his life lessons hit home. "Why should I pay, it wasn't me that crashed!"

"Did you give him your machine when he asked when you knew better? He could have been seriously injured or even killed and you know he doesn't know how to ride. You are just as much to blame as he." and then I put the icing on the cake, "Try to imagine how you would explain this to your mother (in Guam)."

This is when Glenn piped up, "They took off without even stopping to check if I was able to get my machine working. Kaylene came back towing the tree behind her. I swear, they kept me up all night last night. It is like they all left half their brains behind when they got on the trail to come here."

This is when DeeJay copped an attitude and stopped talking to me. Meanwhile D and his girlfriend G do some noodling on our couch while Edye and I start cooking them dinner. There is loud teenage stuff happening while Falcom is singing and Marina is being Marina all in a 780 square foot cabin.

Did I mention that it was -5 degrees Fahrenheit out?

Glenn made a bonfire. At 10pm Marina climbed into my lap and asked me to go to bed. I was tired and got her upstairs and got Falcom up there too. We laid in bed together and I told them stories and they were just about asleep when from outside fireworks started going off. Falcom shot up in tears. We ran downstairs and Edye yelled at Glenn to make them stop. I got the kids back upstairs and back to sleep when I heard the machines reeve up and they all left. I assume to go to the lake to watch fireworks and knowing they were gone I was able to get back to sleep.

At 1.30 they came back in. All 8 of them. Glenn was snoring in the bed next to me with Edye. Marina and Falcom were still asleep. I marched downstairs and said, "If you wake my children I will go nuclear." "We will be quiet, we swear! We just aren't tired yet!"

I laid awake listening to their giggling and name calling and farting and burping. I will say that they tried to stay quiet-ish. And then at 2.30, they came upstairs and climbed into beds. At about 3 I heard DeeJay say, "D! Knock it off!"

The fire may not have been hot, but I was hot. As I laid there I was so mad that I was imagining there was a toxic smell moving through the cabin. Before I knew it, Glenn and Edye were jumping up and it was not just me imagining a toxic smell, G had put her high end synthetic socks on the fire to dry them before snuggling up with boyfriend on couch.

At 4 Marina had to pee. At 6, I had to pee again. At 8.30 I was awake for good and came down to start some coffee. I took a flashlight and shined it on the clock to see what time it was and D, with one arm around his girl FLIPS ME OFF. Oh, sure, I know he thought I was one of the guys messing with him as he was the king rooster 17 year old who got to spend the night with a girl, but... It was the final straw!

I went out to pee (again) and found the socks in the snow. They were completely melted down to practically nothing.

No, I wasn't' able to get a nap that day because it was too cold to go out so the kids spent most of the day indoors. Glenn had told the kids that did not belong to us that they would be leaving and it was around noon when they did.

Right before they left Edye said to G, "Do your parents know that you were here with us this weekend with D?" and she, as bold as only a 16 year old girl in low slung jeans with a nice wide belt displaying her lower back and the future site of a tramp stamp could, said, "Of course! I have been with D for 9 months now and we trust him completely."

Edye rolled her eyes knowing the testosterone driven ways of ALL 17 year old boys. Did I mention that this is the daughter of lawyers? Edye responded in nonplused voice, "9 months...wow!"

I was just surprised that times had changed so much that kids now have no problem getting it on in a tiny cabin over filled with people without even being drunk! At least when we were young we were stupid because we were drunk!

As they were dressing to leave us DeeJay asked her if she would be working at Safeway this summer and she said, "Um...I don't work." She was impressive in every way.

As their snow machines purred in the yard, D came in and tossed us a frozen lump of something and said, "This is from Europe, a gift from G's folks."

Edye and I took a deep breath, said goodbye and poured another cup of coffee. I know this won't shock anyone to hear, but G did not even bother picking up her crispy socks from the yard to put them in the trash before she left.

With them gone we got our teenagers back. No, their frontal lobes had not grown, but at least they were put back into their heads. I was so tired. Vince came right on time and his laughter could not be contained when he heard the story of the night before. He laughed and laughed at the snow machine wreck. He laughed and laughed at D and G on the couch. "He has his own cabin. Why would he come here? You want a piece, take your piece somewhere where you can really do your business. He then flipped you off! Ha ha ha! Why didn't you pick his ass up and throw him into a snow bank. That is what you do with teenage boys! Ha ha ha ha!"

We spent the remainder of the evening drinking soda and lighting off the big fireworks. Marina and Falcom were delighted by the sparklers.

Vince's laughter at the event helped change all of our perspectives. It also made the teenagers realize how out of control they were.

Finally, when I couldn't sleep again because I was overtired and over anxious he climbed in bed and took care of all my anxiety by hugging me and listening to my fears.

I could go on and on about the rest of the weekend. About how teenage bull**** kept getting in the way of us all having a great time, but I won't. I'll just say that DeeJay has a nice case of frostbite, because, 'he's not cold'.

Back at home, in front of my light, I am taking assessment of my SAD set back. I was up twice in the night. Not for long, luckily. Was it worth it? Yes, I really love my family, and I love being with them even if it means that I have to spend time with teenagers.

And on the third night, at 4am when I went outside to pee, I looked up and witnessed a beautiful meteor shower. There were so many falling stars I was able to make five wishes before having to worry about frostbite. In my mind, this seemed to be perfect symbolism...