Yesterday was amazing. It was also exhausting because I drove for over 5 hours but it was amazing nonetheless. As I mentioned in my last post, the boys had a very rough Tuesday night therapy session. While I’m not going to dive into the specifics of that, all that matters for context is that it was extremely emotional for them.

I had decided to give all of us a mental health day and so I drove them out to Cook Forest State Park, near Clarion PA. It’s about a 2.5 hour drive from our house but my parents were there and we wanted to visit them for a little while.

The drive wasn’t that bad and it was actually the first road trip we’ve taken in the new car. I don’t even think we’ve been to the Cleveland Clinic in it yet.

Anyway, the drive was actually kinda fun. We listened to music, podcasts, and even some Audible. Gavin slept like a freaking baby for most of the drive and so he missed out on some of the fun. LOL

I think this was actually the first time I’ve driven there on my own. It’s a beautiful drive and I wish I could have focused on more of the scenery but eyes on the road, right?

We arrived around 11am and spent a few hours with my parents. The kids explored the banks of the Clarion River and we went on a short hike to a really special ice cream place we always visit when we are there. It really was a good time and it was so nice to spend some time with my parents. The kids wanted to stay but it wasn’t going to work out. I had to get home because I had an appointment to get the car worked on.

I’m thinking about maybe making another trip out there this summer, only this time we stay for a few days. I don’t know if it will work out and it wouldn’t be until later this summer but I think the kids would really like it. I’d love to take them in the fall because the trees are absolutely stunning.

We’ll see how the summer goes.

We did make it back in time to get the car in. There was a water leak in the trunk that caused the spare tire well to fill up with water. I don’t know if you remember when the car was in the body shop getting repainted, they discovered that the car had been in a wreck and was not repaired correctly. The entire backend needs cut off and rebuilt to make it right and that was an extra $6,000. The car was leaking because of the poor body work that had been done before I bought the car.

Anyway, my brother and I found and fixed the leak and while I need a heavy rainfall to test it out, I’m pretty sure we got it. I feel much better now that this has been fixed. The car is in amazing shape but sitting water inside the trunk is not a good thing.

Huge shout out to my brother Jon, for taking the time to help me out.

I feel like it was a really, really good day. I was talking to a friend of mine last night for quite some time and it was a nice way to wind the day down. I think everyone should take a mental health day every once in awhile. It’s really important that we not lose sight of just how important our mental health is. The reality is, life is hard and 2020 was a nightmare. COVID has had a huge impact on everyone’s mental health and taking a break to focus on your emotional wellbeing is a really good idea.