Laura, Laura, Laura

Furlough Report, Days 10/14 and 11/15
Theme: Laura, Laura, Laura

With the furlough hopefully drawing to a close soon, I decided yesterday and today were the perfect days to spend extra time with my daughter.

That said, even before the furlough took effect, yesterday (Columbus Day) was slated for a Family Fun Day. By that, I mean that Laura and I and another friend had plans to go to a fall farm/pumpkin patch for the day. We decided to go with Summer’s Farm Adventure in Frederick, Maryland. We’d never been and it looked like it had a lot of activities going on even though it was a weekday. One of our primary goals: take a hayride to a pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins for this year. (A hayride is just part of the pumpkin experience for us.) Other goals: Have a ton of fun (obviously).

We met both our goals. Included in the day: bouncing on the (two) bouncy pillows, (three) slides, corn cribs, a corn maze, rubber ducky races, hayride to the pumpkin patch (she finagled FOUR pumpkins out of me during our time in the pumpkin patch), the pumpkin house, the horse and elephant swings, the huge hay bale to climb, the straw tunnel, animals (and feeding goats and sheep)… And, what was perhaps most exciting to my daughter, NO NAP. To say my daughter went home happy and exhausted is an understatement. (I won’t mention how many photos I went home with. The blessing and curse of the digital camera.)

It was, without a doubt, one of those perfect days. Good food. Good company. Beautiful weather, which we enjoyed even more after multiple days of rain and clouds leading up to yesterday. Tons of smiles and giggles. And it wasn’t too crowded since it was a weekday.

I know we’d planned on Family Fun Day before the furlough, but it still felt like I was sneaking in an extra day of awesome with my daughter.

(Side note: Our other favorite fall farm is Gaver Farm, which we visited last month with some friends. I highly recommend both.)

Today is a little bit quieter, but again will be all about her. (Her daycare is closed today because of the Muslim holiday. I’d arranged for back-up care, but thanks to the furlough I’ll get an extra day with her instead. The silver lining to the dismal and frustrating furlough cloud.) We began with her favorite Micky Mouse episode, which prompted her to ask for muffins for breakfast. As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, I’m a baker. But muffins are my kryptonite. No matter what I do, I can’t bake decent muffins from scratch. So I’m trying again. (Keep your fingers crossed for me.)

Also on the agenda: The Mommy & Me (& Daddy Too!) Halloween Event at Rockville Town Center. I’ve never been to any Mommy & Me events because I’m a working mom, so this should be fun. A fellow furloughed parent is joining me as is a stay-at-home mom friend. I’m excited for a lot of reasons, including the fact that my daughter will be with her father for Halloween this year, so this is my chance to see her in a costume this year… albeit a last minute costume since we only decided to do this yesterday. Not sure yet what else today’s Laura Day will include. Stay tuned…

About Robin Ferrier

Robin Ferrier is the Vice Chair of the Gaithersburg Book Festival. She has had three short stories published in anthologies and literary journals and had a play performed in Source theater's 10 Minute Play Competition. She has an M.A. in Writing from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. from the University of Virginia.

View all posts by Robin Ferrier