onetruetweedle

My Dad came home from work one day. This day was probably…wow, five years ago now. He was obviously bursting with exciting news, and he presented it to all six of his children at the dinner table that night. His company wanted him to serve as a taxation director in Belgium for two years. He was overjoyed.

His children were…less so. Two years? TWOYEARS?! Away from our friends, our fun, and our…well…freedom? We couldn’t speak the language over there! We wouldn’t be able to learn it soon enough! Two years?! Two years away from home?

The anger festered inside all of us. Or me, at least. It was so selfish of him! He was going to drag us all along on his “adventure”. I liked where we were, I liked what we had. I didn’t want to give it up.

Intending to prove to my entire family what a loon he was, I began to research Belgium in order to pile up a couple dozen solid reasons why we couldn’t go.

But what I found in the encyclopedia surprised me. Belgium looked…fun. Facts came tumbling out of the book at me. The Carnival of Binche. Godiva chocolate. Saint Nicholas Day (and Christmas?!). And the cities! Wallonia, Flanders, and Brussels! We’d be living just north of Brussels – what an experience!

After much more research and eye-opening discoveries, I did a complete 360. Belgium looked amazing. And it wasn’t as if we’d be limited to that one country! All of Europe was out there, waiting to be explored. I saw the opportunity for what it was, and began to lobby my siblings for their approval.

Soon, nearly my entire family was psyched for this to happen. We’d made peace with the difficulty it would bring us, but we decided that the good outweighed the bad.

My Dad came home from work again, this time looking sad.

Due to his company attempting to be as non-discriminatory as possible, they gave the job to one of my Dad’s female subordinates.

So we didn’t go to Belgium.

But I will go there…one day…

The End.

I’ve wanted to go to PEI for a long time. My Mom talks about it in the same glowing terms as my Dad talks about St. Andrews. It’s a place that my Mom has dreamed about since she first layed eyes on “Anne of Green Gables”, and her desire to go there has only grown throughout the years. I’m a terrible son if I can’t get her there…

Simply put, I want to fulfill a goal my Mom has had since she was a child.

Barely worth attending…

To be perfectly honest, it’s a “Loser’s Mt. Rushmore”.

The hike is barely worthy of being called a hike, and the view is mediocre at best. Sitting in the field at looking at the hulking rock is easily the most enjoyable part, though the carving mars the beauty somewhat.

I’ll say it’s worth visitting because I hear the laser shows are incredible, though I was unable to see one. Watch a laser show – otherwise, not worth it.