Going to Grandma's

“I’m Going to Grandma’s” was the plan. We marketed the idea to the girls by displaying a “vacation” magnet on the girls’ calendar. Every day we moved the marker closer to the vacation date. Every day we told the girls how many days we had to go.

In hindsight I guess I saw “it” coming; “it” being sickness. We were to leave on Friday, and on the Monday proceeding it, Avery threw up after a park date. The throwing up stuff seemed to be an isolated incident and we stayed in for the remainder of the week while Avery “recovered” from her cold/flu-like symptoms.

Surveying the situation I labeled it as a nuisance-type illness; the kind that a dose of Motrin seemed to do the trick to keep the patient on the up-and-up. The unknowns were: How quickly would the illness pass, and, more importantly, would Ro get it too?

And so we continued to plan, pack and gear up for the trek to Nebraska. Thursday evening was spent loading the van, anticipating an early-morning departure on Friday morning. I had pulled out my cool mom hat and had all kinds of neat toys and snacks set to entertain the girls on our ten-hour hike.

We were out of the house by 6:30 a.m. Friday morning, and made a stop at Dunkin' Donuts for a little “You ‘Kin Do It!” inspiration. I agreed to drive, and Dan was in the back of the van with the girls. Before we left I handed Dan some empty Target shopping bags, telling him that these were his "Oh Sh$t!" bags. Little did we know.......

An hour into the trip Avery started to look a little funny. Looking a little funny turned into throwing up, therefore prompting me to veer off of the highway to assess the situation. She “seemed” okay, so we traveled another ten miles, and then Romey threw up. You might say that Dan had his hands full…..

So, unlike how the little red suitcase (a precious keepsake from my Grandma Lois) said it would go, we decided to make a u-turn and head back home. We were packed, had a strategy in play, and decided to pull the plug. To say that disappointment was shared from here to Nebraska would be a major understatement. The disappointment seriously stunk, and not even multiple trips to Oberweis could diminish the feelings of “suck.”

Here’s the “good” news: we made the right choice. We’ve had a miserable weekend with two whiny, crying kids. On a positive note, they are feeling better, although Ro is cutting two molars, and in a world of mouth-hurt.

For now the suitcase is back on the shelf. We’ll try again in a month, and are really looking forward to re-uniting with Dan’s family. In the meantime, I’m back on Kleenex duty.