no badge earned...

let's just call a spade a spade, shall we.  notice i just put a period rather than opting for a question mark at the end of my lead sentence.  there is a reason.

this past weekend, the fam ventured off to monteagle.  if you are not from tennessee, you may or may not have heard of this slice of wilderness heaven nestled off I-24.  from appreciative architecture to the lush, green landscape, this place is a save-the-earth haven for those who love the great outdoors.  the air, itself, just makes you effortlessly relaxed as soon as you hop out of your car on arrival.....unless, you are me.

are you familiar with the oscar-worthy epic entitled legally blonde? if so, you will recall the martin scorscese-esque moment when elle woods waltzes into her first law school class.  she pops out her hot pink spiral notebook and pen with furry end.  she does not blend in with the academia-ridden locals in her class one bit.  she sticks out, not in a good way, from the moment her manolos entered the land of law.  fast forward to the tree-hugging, peace/love/happiness land of monteagle, tennessee and insert maggie parsley.

now, i had the best weekend ever because the company made it perfection....somehow.  the crew we trekked up with knew the area like the back of their hand.  since these families call this place their second home, my unnaturalness stuck out like a sore thumb.  i couldn't even pretend to waltz around like the other mommas there.  their nativeness to the area made them appear like cool, chic, girl scout models.  they owned their wilderness ways and to me, appeared to do everything from cooking to mothering to packing in a perfect "10" manner.

the group cooked, picnicked (bet you didn't know that was a verb), visited, played, lounged, etc....it was a weekend full of the nothingness we all needed.  we were up on a mountain closer to our god and were able to TRULY enjoy some of the companions he has blessed our lives with along the way.  we were one with our environment...a holy & heavenly bonnaroo if you will...

....away from work
...away from the middle tennessee gossip
...away from familiar grocery store runs for food we don't need
...away from the usmagazine news that reminds us how unfamous we are
...away from our daily calendar reminders and rigid business and/or parenting routines

if you all could have witnessed the weekend of absolute fun, you would have said that if it was a competition i would have come in dead last.  i didn't even earn a "thank you for participating" ribbon.  thankfully, there was no competitive edginess at all.  everyone just enjoyed everyone....what a gift on mother's day!  instead of judgment about how un-monteagle this mommy is, my friends just gave me a side hug when i had my one minor come apart and poured me a glass of vino to relax me a bit.

while i didn't earn a badge to add to my ugly brown sash, i did earn a ton of respect for my dear friends that do these trips with style.  maybe at the next ceremony, i will at least be made into a brownie en route to girl scout superiority.  for now, i will sing "make new friends but keep the old...one is silver and the other gold" in a round....

miss minnie

tully & stones

venturing away

minnie's version of "cheese" with daddy & brother