May 2024
by Kris Francoeur
“Planning our adventure to Vermont, and actually making it happen, was almost a contact sport at times!”
The original plan was for twelve of us to go to Lake Placid for a winter adventure, skiing, exploring the Olympic Park, staying in an isolated lodge – all with four generations of our family and our 100-lb dog.
Then, one member had a massive stroke (not our pALS). Then another broke his leg needing it to be pinned surgically, while also tearing the ACL and MCL in the other leg. Then others got COVID.
A massive family pivot happened, and we instead planned to go to Isle La Motte, Vermont, in the far north of Vermont. We planned for all of us, now a group of fourteen, to go to a lakeside house for a week of late spring togetherness, planning to swim, kayak, have bonfires, cookouts, play soccer, do some hiking, maybe some mini golf.
In late May, our family group, with our very large dog, headed to the lake…
Our cottage took our breath away. Tucked on a beautiful lot, you could see the lake from every window.
As we brought in our supplies, we turned to find a doe on the lawn, staring at us with great interest, and we knew this place was truly magical.
Within hours, we settled in, and found our rhythm, which was no small accomplishment with our pALS just getting used to his BIPAP, three kids ten and under, the dog who’d never gone on a vacation before, and many, many people all unpacking and putting things away.
For the first time on a family trip, we tried a new practice. Each couple planned, shopped for, and prepared a dinner for the group, and another couple cleaned up after the meal.
It meant no one person or couple felt the weight of feeding everyone, or cleaning up, and we had the best meals. Everyone tried new foods, ate a ton, and cheered for the culinary prowess of others.
Each night, we sat by a fire on the beach, laughing and talking. The older generation taught the younger people about how to make the best ‘smores. We laughed, told stories, and focused on being together.
In the course of our week, we celebrated the announcement of an engagement and played hours and hours of soccer.
Some of our plans fell by the wayside due to logistical and communication glitches. In the end, it didn’t matter. What we all wanted was uninterrupted time together, and that we had.
The best part? Each night multiple generations sat together under the stars at the campfire, and talked and laughed.
From an accessibility standpoint, our cottage was not as accessible as advertised, but with some ingenuity, strong backs, and a lot of laughs, we made it work.
Our advice would be, if possible, actually go see the accommodations prior to travel to double-check all is as expected.
Also, when Grandma was looking at cottages, she didn’t notice the piano in the pictures, and with little ones, a piano is a lot of fun…
For us as a family, we went into this adventure having just lost our elderly matriarch, and it was a time of remembrances, and making memories, and when it was time to go home, many tears were shared as we all wished we could stay longer!
Thanks to Team Gleason for making this all possible!
