Catching Up

Last week I was bone tired. I'm finally rested up and raring to go.

Last night I learned that my aunt passed away. She was my Dad's brother's wife. We shared the same name--well, nickname, I guess. She was a lovely lady, and even though I didn't know her well, I feel saddened.

I also learned last night that my other aunt, my Dad's sister, had a heart attack on Friday. She was taken to the hospital, they put two stents in, and she was back home by Sunday. I found that AWFUL. Well, she was having severe pain this morning, so was taken back to the hospital.

Please say prayers or send good vibes for these families.

My 77-year-old cousin, Dad's sister's son, passed away on the day before Thomas's birthday.

It's been a very rough year for Dad's family.

On a brighter note, Thomas had a blast with his birthday surprise.

We told him of the surprise 20 miles before we hit Sioux Falls, and he was bouncing. The motel room was nice (but smallish) the water park inside was great. Thomas MADE me go down the water slide.

I don't know where my zest for life went, but I got to the top of the stairs and I panicked. I sat down, then stood back up. I realized Thomas was watching me, and even though he is 13, I wasn't setting a good example. I am forever telling him to face his fears. So I had him go down first, then took my time. I sat, and my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to pop right out of my chest.

Me, the girl who used to be so adventurous, who loved water slides, who had no fear...that was before I got old. And fat. And afraid of breaking bones.

I pushed off. I was going too fast for my comfort, so I dragged my hands along the sides so strongly that I squeaked the whole way down. Apparently, it was hilarious because everyone could hear it.

I did it, though.

Then Bob told me it was a shame I lost that child-like quality I once had.

So I climbed the stairs and went down again, this time without squeaking.

We swam all night, then feasted on pizza.

The next day, the official birthday, we went to The Cracker Barrel for breakfast. I knew they'd have biscuits and gravy for Thomas and Bob. They did, and they were awful. I felt bad for Thomas, but my breakfast was great. lol

We then went to the zoo. Sioux Falls has a smallish zoo, but it's very nice. They had a baby Siamang Gibbons primate, that was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. The mother kept pinning the poor thing to the ground and using it as a plate. She put her food on it, and then would pick up the food and eat. Several times she would actually bend down and eat straight off the belly. That little babe tried to escape every chance it got, but momma's long arms didn't let it get far. (I don't know if it was a girl or boy.)

We then ate lunch at Taco Bell, because we don't have one and love it, and went back to swim. Dinner was Fudrucker's, Thomas's choice. Then we hit Barnes and Noble and bought the four books to complete the series A Wrinkle in Time for Thomas.

The next morning we were up early and on the road.

It was a whirlwind.

It was fun.

It was tiring, only because I got hit with furnace people when we got home. That was just stressful for me.

Our pups were very well behaved the whole trip. I think it may have helped that they had to stay in motels when they were younger.

The funny part of Thomas's birthday is this: He asked me what motel we would go to next year for his birthday. Yup, I knew it, I was setting a precedent. lol We explained that this was a special welcome to teenager-dom thing, and not to get used to it.

School was back to normal today. It was good not having people in our home, and following our normal routine. We start between 9 and 9:30, and I get my alone, quiet time before Thomas gets up and after Bob leaves for work.

Thomas rated it an 8 out of 10. I think that's a good thing.