Our home isn't all that large. It seems even smaller now that Hubster struggles with walking in tight spaces due to the Parkinson's. Even without the Parkinson's it's small. We can't open the dishwasher and oven door at the same time, because they'd hit one another. They're on opposite walls. Like I said. Small.
Don't get me wrong. We love our house. It's our home. It will be our one and only home. We just want it to be a little more user friendly when the eventuality comes that Hubster will need a wheelchair. It is likely years away, but it will come. And we know from experience that our house is not built for someone in a wheelchair to get around. When Hopper broke her leg a few years ago, I thought we were all going insane from the lack of space!
We had a couple of major hail storms this year that tossed baseball-sized hail at our roof and patio cover. It destroyed them both, so they both will need replaced. The problem is that the roof on patio is entirely too small. Originally, there had been a brick planter all the way around, but the roof didn't extend over them. Now that the planters are gone, the patio looks like it's been the butt of a summer camp prank and has been short sheeted. Unfortunately, we can't replace the patio roof with a size large enough to cover the pad without new concrete being poured and a new structure being built.
We've also always wanted to convert the garage into living space, (think bigger kitchen and bigger living room), but we never even thought it was a possibility. It certainly isn't big enough for a car. Ok. Maybe a small car would fit in it, but there's no way an SUV or van would fit, and I don't see us getting by without one or the other. Come to think of it, I suppose the possibility existed, but the money to make it happen didn't exist, so we really didn't know when, how, or if it could ever happen, let alone get a carport.
We didn't want a little flimsy aluminum one that would blow into our neighbor's backyard with the smallest gust of wind, but a permanent carport that would protect the car from the hail, heat, snow, and ice. The thought of not having to shovel snow from the driveway seems to good to be true, let alone the safety factor. Where both Hubster and Scooter are at greater risk for falls, the thought of a driveway free of ice sounds beyond amazing!
All of these renovations have been nothing but far-off dreams for years. Until now. We just found out that Hubster's disability claim was awarded, so we will be signing loan paperwork to get started on all of it in the next few days! We are super excited and can't wait for the additions to our home to be complete!
The flip side of things is that it's a lot of work. The garage is full. It's not as full as it used to be, because we have worked on paring down quite a bit, but there is still a massive amount of stuff out there. My mission, if I choose to accept it, is to get rid of every. single. thing. in the garage and on the porch. Once they pull the walls from the kitchen and living room down, any mouse or spider that currently resides in the garage will have free access to the house. If we get rid of everything out there, they won't have a place to hide, and we'll be able to eradicate each of them before the wall comes down.
Totally worth it.
This mission is going to be difficult, there's no doubt, but guess who's up for the job? That's right! I'm ready to put in the work to reap the rewards of a bigger, more comfortable home. I'm finding that dehoarding decisions are coming easier now that there's a real goal in mind, so I'm just going to go in each day that I work out there with the renovations in mind.
This mission may be difficult, it may be a herculean challenge, but it is not impossible.
I accept.
Showing posts with label Hopper. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hopper. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Monday, October 29, 2018
Forgiveness. It's what's for supper.
Lots has happened since I was last here. Lots. Mostly good. Overwhelmingly good, actually.
Shortly after I last wrote, we had to leave for almost a month to be with my mom. She had open heart surgery that went fantastically well. A hiccup here and there, but she's doing great, and we are very thankful! Without it, she wouldn't be here today. Like I said. We're very, very thankful!
We also found out Hopper has virtually no immune system. This doesn't sound like a good thing, but it really is. She would still have virtually no immune system, if we didn't know, and at least by knowing, we can get her treatment. The treatment is getting infusions of replacement immunoglobulin once a month for the rest of her life. It's harvested from the B cells in the plasma that people donate. Her infusions contain the immunoglobulin from no less than 10,000 donors, and as much as 100,000 donors for each treatment! That amazes me!
While I know some people give plasma, because it pays well, I also know there are others who donate for no other reason than to save lives. Regardless of the motivation behind the donations, I just want to say that we appreciate each and every person who donates to save our daughter's life! From the bottoms of our hearts, thank you!
Before the 'dear friend', (that tried to derail me), contacted me to see, if we could rebuild our friendship, I had already forgiven her. Instead of feeling sorry for myself and holding anger towards her, I started praying for her. It changed my mindset completely, and I had complete peace about all of it. I'm not saying that I'll let it happen to me again. I won't. I refuse to willingly participate in the destruction of anyone's mental health, including my own.
I told her I would be willing to try to rebuild our friendship, but I also know that I'm okay with leaving it like it is, which looks nothing like it used to look. It's more of an acquaintance thing for now, and it likely will be for quite some time - perhaps forever. I've moved on. I harbor no ill feelings for her at all, but I don't think we're supposed to be really close friends, and my heart is okay with that, too.
In spite of everything, I continue to dehoard. There are days that it might not look like much, but with each thing I toss, donate, or sell, my mind clears, and my mood lifts. Earlier this month, we got a couple of little cabinets to store our medical supplies, so we we are using shelves instead of drawers. I cleaned our old one out, purged a lot of things we no longer needed or used, and came across one thing that actually made me feel a bit sad for that person that I used to be. That person who didn't know how to clear the cobwebs from her mind enough to know that it was okay to throw certain things away.
I was finishing up the last little pile of items to sort that came out of the drawers of medical supplies yesterday. In it was a pair of those clip-on sunglasses that were covered in what looked like whitewash paint. I felt sad for the old me, who couldn't seem to throw them away, but I know her. She wasn't hanging onto them, because they were 'so important' to her that she couldn't part with them. She held onto them, because they were a splurge at a time when we couldn't really afford them, and she felt guilty they were messed up. She felt that somehow it was her responsibility to at least try to fix them, so they were usable again, and she stuck them in a tin to fix when she 'got around to it'. She just never got around to it.
And do you know what I did? I gave her a hug, I forgave her, told her to forgive herself, and then I promptly threw them in the trash. And it was freeing for both of us.
It's amazing how good forgiveness tastes.
Shortly after I last wrote, we had to leave for almost a month to be with my mom. She had open heart surgery that went fantastically well. A hiccup here and there, but she's doing great, and we are very thankful! Without it, she wouldn't be here today. Like I said. We're very, very thankful!
We also found out Hopper has virtually no immune system. This doesn't sound like a good thing, but it really is. She would still have virtually no immune system, if we didn't know, and at least by knowing, we can get her treatment. The treatment is getting infusions of replacement immunoglobulin once a month for the rest of her life. It's harvested from the B cells in the plasma that people donate. Her infusions contain the immunoglobulin from no less than 10,000 donors, and as much as 100,000 donors for each treatment! That amazes me!
While I know some people give plasma, because it pays well, I also know there are others who donate for no other reason than to save lives. Regardless of the motivation behind the donations, I just want to say that we appreciate each and every person who donates to save our daughter's life! From the bottoms of our hearts, thank you!
Before the 'dear friend', (that tried to derail me), contacted me to see, if we could rebuild our friendship, I had already forgiven her. Instead of feeling sorry for myself and holding anger towards her, I started praying for her. It changed my mindset completely, and I had complete peace about all of it. I'm not saying that I'll let it happen to me again. I won't. I refuse to willingly participate in the destruction of anyone's mental health, including my own.
I told her I would be willing to try to rebuild our friendship, but I also know that I'm okay with leaving it like it is, which looks nothing like it used to look. It's more of an acquaintance thing for now, and it likely will be for quite some time - perhaps forever. I've moved on. I harbor no ill feelings for her at all, but I don't think we're supposed to be really close friends, and my heart is okay with that, too.
In spite of everything, I continue to dehoard. There are days that it might not look like much, but with each thing I toss, donate, or sell, my mind clears, and my mood lifts. Earlier this month, we got a couple of little cabinets to store our medical supplies, so we we are using shelves instead of drawers. I cleaned our old one out, purged a lot of things we no longer needed or used, and came across one thing that actually made me feel a bit sad for that person that I used to be. That person who didn't know how to clear the cobwebs from her mind enough to know that it was okay to throw certain things away.
I was finishing up the last little pile of items to sort that came out of the drawers of medical supplies yesterday. In it was a pair of those clip-on sunglasses that were covered in what looked like whitewash paint. I felt sad for the old me, who couldn't seem to throw them away, but I know her. She wasn't hanging onto them, because they were 'so important' to her that she couldn't part with them. She held onto them, because they were a splurge at a time when we couldn't really afford them, and she felt guilty they were messed up. She felt that somehow it was her responsibility to at least try to fix them, so they were usable again, and she stuck them in a tin to fix when she 'got around to it'. She just never got around to it.
And do you know what I did? I gave her a hug, I forgave her, told her to forgive herself, and then I promptly threw them in the trash. And it was freeing for both of us.
It's amazing how good forgiveness tastes.
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Hello Darkness, My Old Friend. It's Getting Cold In Here Again.
Our kitchen is small. Like postage stamp sized small. We have only the cupboard under the sink and one tiny side cupboard that make up the bottom bank of cabinets. The top cabinets include one double cabinet over the island, (that holds the tiny side cupboard and the dishwasher), a regular size cabinet to the left of the sink, 2 small cabinets that share the corner to the right of the sink, and a bank of small baskets that go above the stove and refrigerator. Did I mention it's small?
There is no pantry. We have a shelf pot rack hung on the wall to hang our pots and pans when not in use, a baker's rack that holds the microwave oven and some small appliances in the cupboard underneath, and a big hotel armoire with four large drawers as storage. We call the armoire the "pantry" just as a way to identify it to one another. And while it holds quite a bit, it really is not nearly as convenient as a walk in pantry would be. One day, I hope that we can build one just off the kitchen in the garage. If we ever do, I would ensure it was large enough to hold a spare refrigerator, all of the small appliances that are in the laundry room, because we don't use them that often, so they haven't made the list to stay upstairs, and the upright freezer we have downstairs.
Because, let's face it. It's not convenient to have the freezer downstairs. It's also not convenient to have to go down there to get extra paper towels, the waffle iron, or the syrup, and it makes putting groceries away great fun. We definitely get our exercise when we're unpacking the car and putting the frozen stuff away.
But that is our situation for the foreseeable future, and we'll deal with it. We are actually very, very thankful that we have that extra storage space, and I am not complaining. Just explaining.
So the other night, I asked Hopper to run downstairs and get the last of the pizzas that were in the freezer. We'd gotten some when we'd gone shopping a few weeks ago, and there were 2 left, and they were going to be supper. We had just stocked up on a few more necessities the other day, so the freezer was full, so I asked Hopper to make sure she closed the freezer well. When she came upstairs, she said that she had, so I popped the pizzas in the oven and forgot about it.
Yesterday morning, I went to the laundry room to start a load of clothes. I was in my stocking feet, which is abnormal, because I'm wearing shoes 95% of the time I'm awake. But certain shoes throw me a little bit off balance on the stairs, so I kicked them off before I headed down. And I'd barely stepped into the laundry room, when my foot was soaking wet. The freezer was defrosting all over the floor.
:::le sigh:::
The freezer had been open since the night before, when Hopper got the pizzas out. I know I should have checked on it, but there are some nights that I just need a little break, and that night, those stairs seemed so incredibly long, and I took the easy way out. I needed a break right then. It's probably good I got it when I did, because I've been working on the freezer in my spare time since then!
I can't get mad at Hopper. She did the best she could, and she often says, "no" when she means yes, and vice versa. It's on me. And instead of beating myself up over it, I've decided to just be thankful that the freezer will be clean, and I'll be able to organize it and keep it clean, to prevent this from happening again.
I realized that Hopper had pulled one of the drawers out and then couldn't get it pushed back in all the way, which made the door hinges appear to have been sprung. And as handy as I thought it would be to have drawers in the freezer, they haven't been that great. Then again, we probably haven't implemented them in quite the way they were intended. We've used them to store the frozen goodies from the garden, and come to think of it, the freezer packs that Hubster used to use in his cooler for lunch were in there, as well. I think that they just weighed the drawers down to much to allow them to move freely. So once we stock up on groceries again, I'll make sure that nothing heavy goes in either drawer.
I've already found a short box that I can stand the freezer packs in that is going to work perfectly to help keep things organized and still allow us to access them easily.
Don't worry. It's on a shelf.
I've learned my lesson.
When we go get the groceries to fill the freezer again, I'll have Hopper help me put them away. Hopefully, I can make it a learning opportunity and explain that she can't move things around or pull the drawers out, because we always need to make sure the door closes completely. If need be, we'll start locking it, so she can't get in and rearrange things.
If all else fails, there is an alarm on the freezer, to let us know, if the door has been left open, but it has a major design flaw. . .
We have to remember to turn it on.
There is no pantry. We have a shelf pot rack hung on the wall to hang our pots and pans when not in use, a baker's rack that holds the microwave oven and some small appliances in the cupboard underneath, and a big hotel armoire with four large drawers as storage. We call the armoire the "pantry" just as a way to identify it to one another. And while it holds quite a bit, it really is not nearly as convenient as a walk in pantry would be. One day, I hope that we can build one just off the kitchen in the garage. If we ever do, I would ensure it was large enough to hold a spare refrigerator, all of the small appliances that are in the laundry room, because we don't use them that often, so they haven't made the list to stay upstairs, and the upright freezer we have downstairs.
Because, let's face it. It's not convenient to have the freezer downstairs. It's also not convenient to have to go down there to get extra paper towels, the waffle iron, or the syrup, and it makes putting groceries away great fun. We definitely get our exercise when we're unpacking the car and putting the frozen stuff away.
But that is our situation for the foreseeable future, and we'll deal with it. We are actually very, very thankful that we have that extra storage space, and I am not complaining. Just explaining.
So the other night, I asked Hopper to run downstairs and get the last of the pizzas that were in the freezer. We'd gotten some when we'd gone shopping a few weeks ago, and there were 2 left, and they were going to be supper. We had just stocked up on a few more necessities the other day, so the freezer was full, so I asked Hopper to make sure she closed the freezer well. When she came upstairs, she said that she had, so I popped the pizzas in the oven and forgot about it.
Yesterday morning, I went to the laundry room to start a load of clothes. I was in my stocking feet, which is abnormal, because I'm wearing shoes 95% of the time I'm awake. But certain shoes throw me a little bit off balance on the stairs, so I kicked them off before I headed down. And I'd barely stepped into the laundry room, when my foot was soaking wet. The freezer was defrosting all over the floor.
:::le sigh:::
The freezer had been open since the night before, when Hopper got the pizzas out. I know I should have checked on it, but there are some nights that I just need a little break, and that night, those stairs seemed so incredibly long, and I took the easy way out. I needed a break right then. It's probably good I got it when I did, because I've been working on the freezer in my spare time since then!
I can't get mad at Hopper. She did the best she could, and she often says, "no" when she means yes, and vice versa. It's on me. And instead of beating myself up over it, I've decided to just be thankful that the freezer will be clean, and I'll be able to organize it and keep it clean, to prevent this from happening again.
I realized that Hopper had pulled one of the drawers out and then couldn't get it pushed back in all the way, which made the door hinges appear to have been sprung. And as handy as I thought it would be to have drawers in the freezer, they haven't been that great. Then again, we probably haven't implemented them in quite the way they were intended. We've used them to store the frozen goodies from the garden, and come to think of it, the freezer packs that Hubster used to use in his cooler for lunch were in there, as well. I think that they just weighed the drawers down to much to allow them to move freely. So once we stock up on groceries again, I'll make sure that nothing heavy goes in either drawer.
I've already found a short box that I can stand the freezer packs in that is going to work perfectly to help keep things organized and still allow us to access them easily.
Don't worry. It's on a shelf.
I've learned my lesson.
When we go get the groceries to fill the freezer again, I'll have Hopper help me put them away. Hopefully, I can make it a learning opportunity and explain that she can't move things around or pull the drawers out, because we always need to make sure the door closes completely. If need be, we'll start locking it, so she can't get in and rearrange things.
If all else fails, there is an alarm on the freezer, to let us know, if the door has been left open, but it has a major design flaw. . .
We have to remember to turn it on.
Friday, June 24, 2011
No hopping for Hopper. At least not for awhile...
All things considered, Hopper is doing quite well after her surgery.
She was able to get about 6 hours of sleep straight through the night following her surgery, but that's about it. The poor little thing has always fought sleep when she's in the hospital or on a road trip. I think she's afraid she's going to miss out on something, so her eyes will be drooping, her head will be nodding, but she won't allow herself to relax enough to drift off. Normally, the different pain medicines she's been on would knock a person on their butts, and they'd have a hard time staying awake, but it's been a real struggle for her.
The night of the surgery, The Hubster and I both stayed with Hopper at the hospital. The charge nurse was nice enough to block off the other half of the semi-private room, so we'd have a place to sleep. It's the first time she's been in a non-pediatric ward after surgery, so the nurses were more than happy to have us both there. They weren't sure how to handle the situation, and I think she intimidates them a bit. Where she has difficulty communicating, says 'yes' when she means 'no' all the time (and vice versa), and she can't put into words how much she hurts (the pain scale along with the little faces is worthless for her), they were just happy to have someone there to help them bridge the gap. It just happened to work out very well for us, and we are very, very thankful.
Hopper was able to get out of bed with the help of the physical therapists yesterday, but even though all she did was sit in a wheelchair, it was rough on her. She was in the chair for a couple of hours, while the staff changed her bedding, I gave her a sponge bath and braided her hair, and she ate lunch. Unfortunately, she needed morphine to get back into bed. She having difficulty understanding how not to put weight on her foot, and as a result we had to increase her pain medicine after her excursion out of bed.
This is not going to be easy for Hopper.
Hubster is at the hospital with Hopper right now. He stayed with her overnight. I'll be going up later today, but I am home with Scooter right now. I'm hoping to be able to get the house a bit closer to being ready for her to come home. I was so far behind before she got hurt that I'm really feeling the pinch now. I'm hoping I can get something done while I'm home, so it won't be as overwhelming when she comes home.
Plus, we're worried about her slipping into a depression. She's realizing everything she's not going to be able to do for several weeks...go to her day program, bowling, hiking, swimming, walking.... She apparently fell apart and cried really hard last night after Scooter and I went home. The poor thing. My heart breaks for her. Needless to say, I don't want the condition of the house to add to her concerns.
I was able to get a little bit of sleep last night, and Scooter waking me up came entirely too early for me this morning. All things said, though, I'm thankful she woke me up. I can sleep later. I need to get some more laundry in the washing machine, get Scooter's room ready for Hopper to move in (it will be awhile before Hopper will be able to navigate the stairs well enough to sleep downstairs), and get something else done as quickly as possible in the rest of the house. The way it is, Hopper will really struggle getting around.
She's likely going to need a walker, a wheelchair or crutches to get around, and right now there's not room for any of them.
On that note...I need to get busy before I fall asleep. My eyelids are feeling rather heavy about now.
Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers. They're much appreciated.
She was able to get about 6 hours of sleep straight through the night following her surgery, but that's about it. The poor little thing has always fought sleep when she's in the hospital or on a road trip. I think she's afraid she's going to miss out on something, so her eyes will be drooping, her head will be nodding, but she won't allow herself to relax enough to drift off. Normally, the different pain medicines she's been on would knock a person on their butts, and they'd have a hard time staying awake, but it's been a real struggle for her.
The night of the surgery, The Hubster and I both stayed with Hopper at the hospital. The charge nurse was nice enough to block off the other half of the semi-private room, so we'd have a place to sleep. It's the first time she's been in a non-pediatric ward after surgery, so the nurses were more than happy to have us both there. They weren't sure how to handle the situation, and I think she intimidates them a bit. Where she has difficulty communicating, says 'yes' when she means 'no' all the time (and vice versa), and she can't put into words how much she hurts (the pain scale along with the little faces is worthless for her), they were just happy to have someone there to help them bridge the gap. It just happened to work out very well for us, and we are very, very thankful.
Hopper was able to get out of bed with the help of the physical therapists yesterday, but even though all she did was sit in a wheelchair, it was rough on her. She was in the chair for a couple of hours, while the staff changed her bedding, I gave her a sponge bath and braided her hair, and she ate lunch. Unfortunately, she needed morphine to get back into bed. She having difficulty understanding how not to put weight on her foot, and as a result we had to increase her pain medicine after her excursion out of bed.
This is not going to be easy for Hopper.
Hubster is at the hospital with Hopper right now. He stayed with her overnight. I'll be going up later today, but I am home with Scooter right now. I'm hoping to be able to get the house a bit closer to being ready for her to come home. I was so far behind before she got hurt that I'm really feeling the pinch now. I'm hoping I can get something done while I'm home, so it won't be as overwhelming when she comes home.
Plus, we're worried about her slipping into a depression. She's realizing everything she's not going to be able to do for several weeks...go to her day program, bowling, hiking, swimming, walking.... She apparently fell apart and cried really hard last night after Scooter and I went home. The poor thing. My heart breaks for her. Needless to say, I don't want the condition of the house to add to her concerns.
I was able to get a little bit of sleep last night, and Scooter waking me up came entirely too early for me this morning. All things said, though, I'm thankful she woke me up. I can sleep later. I need to get some more laundry in the washing machine, get Scooter's room ready for Hopper to move in (it will be awhile before Hopper will be able to navigate the stairs well enough to sleep downstairs), and get something else done as quickly as possible in the rest of the house. The way it is, Hopper will really struggle getting around.
She's likely going to need a walker, a wheelchair or crutches to get around, and right now there's not room for any of them.
On that note...I need to get busy before I fall asleep. My eyelids are feeling rather heavy about now.
Thanks to all for your thoughts and prayers. They're much appreciated.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
I want a do over!
In the surgical waiting room at the hospital.
Hopper went to 'work' today with her day program. They went to a fun tumbling gym that has the gigantic trampolines at ground level. She was having fun jumping when she landed wrong and her leg buckled. She broke her femur. Thankfully, they hadn't eaten yet, and she hadn't eaten or had anything to drink since before she left the house this morning, or I think surgery would have been delayed even more.
They'll be putting a rod down the center of her femur and then putting the rest of the femur in place and pushing the rod even further in. It will then be screwed in place, so it can't spin around inside the bone, and it will be able to heal.
She's done amazingly well all things considered. Her anxiety swells from time to time, but they have given her plenty of pain medicine and something for anxiety, so hopefully she'll do okay when she wakes up. It's been a long day for the poor little thing. She fought the medicines and didn't fall asleep at all, even though she's beyond exhausted from the pain and anxiety.
She'll be in the hospital for a couple of days before we can take her home. We have no idea how we're going to pull it off, or even if we can, but she needs to learn how to either use crutches or a walker when she gets home. She's not going to be able to put weight on it for awhile, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes. Shockingly, she won't need any sort of brace or cast to help stabilize it. That sorta blows us away, but we trust the doctors know what they're doing.
Thankfully, Hubster brought my netbook up to the hospital for me to use, so I could have something to do. So here we sit and wait. He reading a book. Me playing on the web.
The cutest thing that happened today? Hubster asked Hopper how she liked the ride in the ambulance. She got very animated and said, "Ambulance is Good!"
The poor little thing. I'm glad she can see the adventure in the day.
Hopper went to 'work' today with her day program. They went to a fun tumbling gym that has the gigantic trampolines at ground level. She was having fun jumping when she landed wrong and her leg buckled. She broke her femur. Thankfully, they hadn't eaten yet, and she hadn't eaten or had anything to drink since before she left the house this morning, or I think surgery would have been delayed even more.
They'll be putting a rod down the center of her femur and then putting the rest of the femur in place and pushing the rod even further in. It will then be screwed in place, so it can't spin around inside the bone, and it will be able to heal.
She's done amazingly well all things considered. Her anxiety swells from time to time, but they have given her plenty of pain medicine and something for anxiety, so hopefully she'll do okay when she wakes up. It's been a long day for the poor little thing. She fought the medicines and didn't fall asleep at all, even though she's beyond exhausted from the pain and anxiety.
She'll be in the hospital for a couple of days before we can take her home. We have no idea how we're going to pull it off, or even if we can, but she needs to learn how to either use crutches or a walker when she gets home. She's not going to be able to put weight on it for awhile, so it'll be interesting to see how it goes. Shockingly, she won't need any sort of brace or cast to help stabilize it. That sorta blows us away, but we trust the doctors know what they're doing.
Thankfully, Hubster brought my netbook up to the hospital for me to use, so I could have something to do. So here we sit and wait. He reading a book. Me playing on the web.
The cutest thing that happened today? Hubster asked Hopper how she liked the ride in the ambulance. She got very animated and said, "Ambulance is Good!"
The poor little thing. I'm glad she can see the adventure in the day.
Friday, June 3, 2011
And on that note...good night!
It feels like we've been gone from home for forever. It's only been about 10 days, but it's amazing how much we packed in to that short amount of time. We've thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, but we've had some interesting hotel adventures along the way.
The longer we're gone, the harder it seems to get going in the mornings to get an early start on the road. It seems to verge on the impossible, even. So we decided to stop last night in Lincoln, NE at the same hotel we stayed at on the way up to Rochester. We were hoping the several hundred miles we had yet to drive today would go more quickly, if we were well rested, and the kids had gotten some sleep.
We didn't want them to go straight to sleep, because we wanted them to feel like they enjoyed their short visit at this now familiar hotel. So we took them to the pool. The water was a bit on the cold side, so they didn't stay in the pool long. We sat in the hot tub for about 10 minutes and went back to the room, got the girls showered, and into bed.
When the girls were little, we'd often give them a nice warm bath to help them sleep, but it didn't seem to do much good last night. The second Hopper's head hit the pillow, she started having a meltdown. It came out of nowhere, like the one had the night before, with the volume escalating with every cry. There were several times we thought she'd finally succumbed to the sandman only to hear a panicky, "MOM!" or "DADDY!" from the other bed, startling all who had dare drift off to sleep. It was well after midnight when she finally drifted into a relaxing sleep.
We were so tired that we decided not to set an alarm and just wake up on our own. Where we'll be home tonight, and we'll all get to sleep in our own beds, we figured it didn't matter, if it took longer to get home. We'll get home tonight regardless, and we figured a little extra sleep might make traveling today easier.
Ha.
Precisely at 9:30a.m., the strobe light in the room that is used to alert those who are hard of hearing of an emergency started flashing. Let me just say that it was BRIGHT! We didn't exactly panic, because there was no audible alarm sounding, and it shut off within about 30 seconds. We figured we could wake up a little more slowly, so we crawled back into bed to awake at a more leisurly pace.
Ha.
Our heads no sooner hit the pillows than the strobe started flashing again. Hubster tried to call the front desk to see what the problem was, but the phone didn't work. He put on his jeans and walked down to the front desk. Someone was working on fire alarm system for the hotel. Over the course of the hour and a half or so it took us to get packed up, showered and leave, the strobe light started flashing no less than 20 times. The last time, it stayed on continuously for 45 minutes.
That peaceful and restful start to our day didn't really get off the ground so well. The strobing made me sick to my stomach and got on all our nerves. Hubster talked to the manager of the hotel and got a partial refund on the room. We felt it was very fair of them. We understood that the inspection wasn't their fault, but they could have also alerted those who were staying in the rooms that were equipped with the strobing lights to what was going on.
When Hubster was finished up, we took off on our long trek home. There was no rain in sight, but to say there wasn't a cloud in the sky would be a lie. There was heavy cloud cover, haze or smoke in the air all 450 miles home, and the wind was something else. It buffeted the car about the highway for a couple hundred miles, but things finally settled down, and we didn't have to stop for Dramamine. Still. It made for a long start to a long day.
We did finally make it home at 8pm our time, 9pm Central time, where we'd spent the last 10 days. Needless to say, it was a long day.
Everyone is exhausted but oh so glad to be home. Best of all?
We get to sleep in our own beds!
The longer we're gone, the harder it seems to get going in the mornings to get an early start on the road. It seems to verge on the impossible, even. So we decided to stop last night in Lincoln, NE at the same hotel we stayed at on the way up to Rochester. We were hoping the several hundred miles we had yet to drive today would go more quickly, if we were well rested, and the kids had gotten some sleep.
We didn't want them to go straight to sleep, because we wanted them to feel like they enjoyed their short visit at this now familiar hotel. So we took them to the pool. The water was a bit on the cold side, so they didn't stay in the pool long. We sat in the hot tub for about 10 minutes and went back to the room, got the girls showered, and into bed.
When the girls were little, we'd often give them a nice warm bath to help them sleep, but it didn't seem to do much good last night. The second Hopper's head hit the pillow, she started having a meltdown. It came out of nowhere, like the one had the night before, with the volume escalating with every cry. There were several times we thought she'd finally succumbed to the sandman only to hear a panicky, "MOM!" or "DADDY!" from the other bed, startling all who had dare drift off to sleep. It was well after midnight when she finally drifted into a relaxing sleep.
We were so tired that we decided not to set an alarm and just wake up on our own. Where we'll be home tonight, and we'll all get to sleep in our own beds, we figured it didn't matter, if it took longer to get home. We'll get home tonight regardless, and we figured a little extra sleep might make traveling today easier.
Ha.
Precisely at 9:30a.m., the strobe light in the room that is used to alert those who are hard of hearing of an emergency started flashing. Let me just say that it was BRIGHT! We didn't exactly panic, because there was no audible alarm sounding, and it shut off within about 30 seconds. We figured we could wake up a little more slowly, so we crawled back into bed to awake at a more leisurly pace.
Ha.
Our heads no sooner hit the pillows than the strobe started flashing again. Hubster tried to call the front desk to see what the problem was, but the phone didn't work. He put on his jeans and walked down to the front desk. Someone was working on fire alarm system for the hotel. Over the course of the hour and a half or so it took us to get packed up, showered and leave, the strobe light started flashing no less than 20 times. The last time, it stayed on continuously for 45 minutes.
That peaceful and restful start to our day didn't really get off the ground so well. The strobing made me sick to my stomach and got on all our nerves. Hubster talked to the manager of the hotel and got a partial refund on the room. We felt it was very fair of them. We understood that the inspection wasn't their fault, but they could have also alerted those who were staying in the rooms that were equipped with the strobing lights to what was going on.
When Hubster was finished up, we took off on our long trek home. There was no rain in sight, but to say there wasn't a cloud in the sky would be a lie. There was heavy cloud cover, haze or smoke in the air all 450 miles home, and the wind was something else. It buffeted the car about the highway for a couple hundred miles, but things finally settled down, and we didn't have to stop for Dramamine. Still. It made for a long start to a long day.
We did finally make it home at 8pm our time, 9pm Central time, where we'd spent the last 10 days. Needless to say, it was a long day.
Everyone is exhausted but oh so glad to be home. Best of all?
We get to sleep in our own beds!
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Neither snow, nor rain, nor dark of night, nor rain, etc., etc., nor rain...
No. I don't work for the US Postal Service. But we've needed to rely on their motto to make it to our nephew's wedding. The weather has been horrid at best, and it's caused signficant delays along the way. A thousand mile trek is long enough in it's own right. Add torrential rain, hail,wind, and fog, and it gets a lot longer.
I'm not complaining. Really, I'm not. I'll take the delays we've had due to bad weather (the first 230 miles took 5.5 hours to drive on the interstate due to hail, rain, and accidents) over the tornadoes and flooding that so many in our country have dealt with in the last several weeks. The delays are simply an inconvenience. They're not actually life altering. So like I said. I'm not complaining. We are incredibly thankful for the safe trip we've had so far.
It's amazing to see all the different hues of green in the landscape of the Midwest. From the lush green grasses to the budding trees and the newly plowed and planted fields, (one of my favorite sights ever), it reminds me that there is life out there that is bigger than my own. That my existence is but a drop in the cosmic bucket of life. It's a nice reminder. It doesn't make me feel small and insignificant, but rather it reminds me that I'm part of a bigger picture. A picture that is ever changing.
Growing.
And growth is good.
Growth is change.
We've talked a lot about how things have changed over the years. The last time we made a 1000 mile trip was well over a decade ago. If the car broke down, we had to hope for a passing car to stop and help us out or hope to limp into the next town without ruining the car completely. We had to have maps stowed away in the glovebox to be spread out in the front seat, so we could see where we were going. Back then, it seemed like a much bigger problem, if we missed an exit.
Now, we can call the tow truck ourselves from the safety of our car, rely on GPS to make sure we don't make a wrong turn, and browse the internet on our way across the country. We can find out with the click of a few buttons, if there are any stores in the upcoming miles where we can buy much needed toiletries or snacks and what their hours of operation are. We can call the Highway Patrol of any state to report a drunk driver, an accident, or a fallen tree that's impeding traffic.
We'd have to bring books of all sorts and games to try to keep the kids occupied in the backseat in days gone by to keep the, "She's touching me!"s to a minimum. Now there are MP3s and personal DVD players and portable electronic games to fight over. They have an upside, though, because they give a kid more to do than to fight or get sea sick while trying to read when the wind picks up.
Yep. Growth and progress are good.
Except when they aren't.
Like when the little gadgets that keep a person entertained entertain them so well that they no longer no how to connect with people around them. Like when a person is so wrapped up in the video game/phone call/text/Facebook/MySpace/instant message thing that they don't even realize their family is falling apart.
Or on a much smaller note like when the newly purchased headphones and MP3 player that Hopper was using disappeared sometime during our overnight stay in Lincoln, and we didn't realize it until we got to Des Moines, and poor Hopper had a total meltdown, because she loves music, and it soothes her and makes a 1000 mile trip more bearable. Thankfully, we'd stopped at a Target store when we noticed, so we were able to replace them without too much of a fuss, but not before the stress level was raised fourfold. My back is still spasming from it.
Then, about an hour outside our final destination, we hear Hopper from the backseat...
"Ha ha! Find it!"
...as she pulled it from a pocket in her bag that somehow had been missed when we tore the back seat apart looking for the thing.
Yep. Technology is a good thing.
Another good thing about technology? It can allow for you to call en route to a wedding 1000 miles away and pretend you're not able to make it, so it can be a fun surprise that you actually made it.
As long as it's used for good and not evil, technology can be a wonderful thing.
Bwahahaha
And yes. They were surprised.
In a really good way.
I'm not complaining. Really, I'm not. I'll take the delays we've had due to bad weather (the first 230 miles took 5.5 hours to drive on the interstate due to hail, rain, and accidents) over the tornadoes and flooding that so many in our country have dealt with in the last several weeks. The delays are simply an inconvenience. They're not actually life altering. So like I said. I'm not complaining. We are incredibly thankful for the safe trip we've had so far.
It's amazing to see all the different hues of green in the landscape of the Midwest. From the lush green grasses to the budding trees and the newly plowed and planted fields, (one of my favorite sights ever), it reminds me that there is life out there that is bigger than my own. That my existence is but a drop in the cosmic bucket of life. It's a nice reminder. It doesn't make me feel small and insignificant, but rather it reminds me that I'm part of a bigger picture. A picture that is ever changing.
Growing.
And growth is good.
Growth is change.
We've talked a lot about how things have changed over the years. The last time we made a 1000 mile trip was well over a decade ago. If the car broke down, we had to hope for a passing car to stop and help us out or hope to limp into the next town without ruining the car completely. We had to have maps stowed away in the glovebox to be spread out in the front seat, so we could see where we were going. Back then, it seemed like a much bigger problem, if we missed an exit.
Now, we can call the tow truck ourselves from the safety of our car, rely on GPS to make sure we don't make a wrong turn, and browse the internet on our way across the country. We can find out with the click of a few buttons, if there are any stores in the upcoming miles where we can buy much needed toiletries or snacks and what their hours of operation are. We can call the Highway Patrol of any state to report a drunk driver, an accident, or a fallen tree that's impeding traffic.
We'd have to bring books of all sorts and games to try to keep the kids occupied in the backseat in days gone by to keep the, "She's touching me!"s to a minimum. Now there are MP3s and personal DVD players and portable electronic games to fight over. They have an upside, though, because they give a kid more to do than to fight or get sea sick while trying to read when the wind picks up.
Yep. Growth and progress are good.
Except when they aren't.
Like when the little gadgets that keep a person entertained entertain them so well that they no longer no how to connect with people around them. Like when a person is so wrapped up in the video game/phone call/text/Facebook/MySpace/instant message thing that they don't even realize their family is falling apart.
Or on a much smaller note like when the newly purchased headphones and MP3 player that Hopper was using disappeared sometime during our overnight stay in Lincoln, and we didn't realize it until we got to Des Moines, and poor Hopper had a total meltdown, because she loves music, and it soothes her and makes a 1000 mile trip more bearable. Thankfully, we'd stopped at a Target store when we noticed, so we were able to replace them without too much of a fuss, but not before the stress level was raised fourfold. My back is still spasming from it.
Then, about an hour outside our final destination, we hear Hopper from the backseat...
"Ha ha! Find it!"
...as she pulled it from a pocket in her bag that somehow had been missed when we tore the back seat apart looking for the thing.
Yep. Technology is a good thing.
Another good thing about technology? It can allow for you to call en route to a wedding 1000 miles away and pretend you're not able to make it, so it can be a fun surprise that you actually made it.
As long as it's used for good and not evil, technology can be a wonderful thing.
Bwahahaha
And yes. They were surprised.
In a really good way.
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