In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue…oh wait, that wasn't us. But, I guess it kind of was. We started off by loading up the blue SUV for a long trek across this great land known as the United States. My dad loves history and wanted to visit Gettysburg. I thought, great just what I wanted to do. So, off we went.
Gettysburg is wonderful. It is solemn with trees and rolling green meadows. You drive along a road and get out at different places that have monumental markers. In the middle of Gettysburg there is a place call Big Mountain. It had started to rain. There is a tower that is beautiful. So, we decided to go up. My mom was a little worried (like she always is).
The view was gorgeous, I needed to remind myself that on this battlefield, thousands of young men lost their lives defending our freedom and incidentally shaping the way America is today. As we all descended down the marble stairs, my mom (like always) was telling us to be careful beacuse it was slippery, she had my little sister in her arms. She walked out, then my dad, and then me. All of he sudden the girl behind us fell, hit her head and started having a seizure. My dad called for my mom, who was an Emergency Room nurse at a Trauma Center in Chicago. My mom handed me my sister and began to help this girl.
On a mountain top, in the middle of nowhere, my mom administered care to this girl and her family. I finally saw my mom as more than just a mom, I saw her as a nurse. In Gettysburg, I finally realized that while my mom always seemed to be a worrier, I realized that she was only trying to protect me and my sister from the horrible accidents she sees everyday. My mom stayed with this girl until the helicopter arrived and assisted the paramedics. Incidentally, we found out that the girl, who was fourteen, had a skull fracture and bleeding in her brain but was expected to make a full recovery.
On this small mountain top, on the battlefield that claimed many lives, one more was not claimed that day. On that small mountain, my views as to how I viewed my parents changed. I guess that is what family vacations are for, to forget about home and bring everyone closer together as a family.
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