Is A Vacation Really A Vacation?

Tomorrow, we leave for a week's vacation at a resort in Virginia. I'm nervous. The last trip we took, since Dylan was born, was a weekend in Lake Erie, (only about 2 hours away). Dylan was 10 months old. To say that it didn't go well, would be an understatement.

Although Dylan loved water at that point, the lake water was freezing, and swimming wasn't an option. That night at the hotel, we scrunched down under the covers, trying not to move, as Dylan screamed his head off. Since he could see us, and we were clearly not asleep, he didn't understand why he should be expected to sleep. Finally, after an hour or more of that, he fell asleep. We watched TV a bit more, then went to sleep ourselves. There was a thunderstorm outside, and suddenly the hotel's fire alarm started going off. Of course, the deafening noise woke all of us up, including Dylan, who tried to match the sound with his own loud crying. Jim stuck his head out the door, to discover that everyone was evacuating the building. I scooped up Dylan and covered his ears as we went out in the hall, where the noise was even louder. Everyone in the hotel stood outside, shivering in the rain, until we were finally allowed back inside. Then, we had to start the whole process over again, trying to get Dylan back to sleep.

The next day, we were supposed to meet one of Jim's friends for lunch. We were going to call her to make the final plans, but she wasn't home! She totally forgot that was the weekend we were coming! Then, we got a phone call from Jim's mom. "You don't have to come home. I'm fine, but I thought you should know that I had a heart attack and I'm at the hospital". That ended the mini vacation.

We drove home, and 1/2 hour later, learned there was a tornado warning in our area! They were advising everyone to go to their basements. So, we just got home, and I was holding a very squirmy child in my arms, as we sat on the basement stairs, waiting out the storm. Suddenly, we heard a noise. "What is that?!" Jim opened the door to the laundry room and we saw it. Water was gushing out of a hole in our wall, right above the sink. Jim very quickly became a lunatic. "BUCKETS!! I NEED BUCKETS!! GET ME BUCKETS, JEN!!" The water was quickly filling the sink, and was about to pour out onto the floor. We filled 2 large garbage cans and soaked the floor, before the water finally stopped coming. Then, we headed for the hospital. (His mom was okay).

So, yea, I'm a little nervous to go away again. But, I'm sure everything will be fine. We'll have a great time, and it will nice to spend time together. Some of the best stories are vacation stories, at least in my experience, so at the very least I'll return with some new material! In the meantime, I've asked a few friends to watch over the place. So, this week, if you drop by, you'll be greeted by Jonny's Mommy from Boondock Ramblings, Jenn from Juggling Life, and JCK from Motherscribe. I'm sure they will be quite gracious. JCK will offer you a drink (of Whiskey), Jonny's Mommy will share the carrot sticks that I left especially for her, and Jenn will make sure you don't trash the place. Visit with Jonny's Mommy on Monday, Jenn on Wednesday, and JCK on Friday, and I'll catch up with all of you when I return, hopefully more relaxed, with a tan, and with no catastrophes to speak of.

"Are you crazy?! This water is freezing!!"

"No, YOU go in!"

"This is how I feel about this vacation!"


*I started writing this on Thursday, two days before vacation. Today, at 2pm, one day before vacation, while washing the last two loads of clothes needed for the trip, the dryer broke. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That's funny, right? Except for the part where, IT'S NOT.*