Can I Get Some Sunshine, PLEASE!?!

Late Friday afternoon, I started to feel sick to my stomach. It was completely manageable but uncomfortable. I just assumed that something I ate must not have agreed with me. I finally got off work around 2pm and headed straight home to pack for the weekend. Between leaving work and actually arriving home, I received a million text messages asking when we were leaving for the country. By the time I got home, I didn’t even want to go anymore. Not sure what spiked the sudden mood change, but GAH! So being the spiteful person I am, I decided to take a nap instead of pack and actually leave like I said I was going to do. Three hours later, we were packed, oil changed, gassed up and on the highway….only to sit on 270 for what seemed like forever (smart idea to leave town at 5pm on a holiday weekend). Still with the queasiness, I just wanted to get there and eat some of grandma’s beef roast.

As the nine o’clock hour approached, we were slowly pulling into the driveway. The kids were excited to see their cousin and give grandma some love. The bon-fire pit was stacked and ready for Chris to light. Before I could even get our luggage inside, my mother-in-law had a nice, cold beer waiting for me. Even the sight of the beer made my stomach do somersaults. I drank it nonetheless….afterall I just spent four hours driving with children in the car.

Once the kids were settled into bed, the adults relaxed around the fire. Oh, the stories that were told that night. I had a stitch in my side all night from laughing so much.

The next morning, the kids woke me up early. I tried to deter them by throwing cereal at them and asking so politely for them to just SHUT UP and EAT IT. To no avail, I was up at 7:30 entertaining four children in a house full of sleeping adults. After breakfast, I took them outside in the glorious sun. We walked down the road to visit the neighbor’s farm. The kids became quite attached to a horse they named Hershey and a dog they named Spot/Buddy depending on who you asked. It was nice to spend some quality time with the kids, even if I was a neurotic, nut-case constantly asking them to GET OUT OF THE ROAD….FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!

Finally around 10, all of the adults were up. This is when I made my escape for a little siesta. A little over an hour later, I got ready for the river. I made my way up stairs, lawn chair and cooler in tow. And guess what? It was pouring down rain. AND THIS IS WHAT IT DID THE REST OF THE WEEKEND! I swear sometimes the universe is against me.

Still with the nausea, I decided that maybe I should just catch up on my rest. We watched movies, napped and played outside in the intermittent dry air. By Sunday, when I was still not feeling well, I figured something had to be wrong. I retraced the last month and began to wonder…when did…….? Oh, holy crap! Seriously, I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. I kept telling saying it was the stomach flu, but I couldn’t even convince myself that was the case. After about an hour of freaking out, Chris drove us into the local Wal-Mart. We headed straight to the pharmacy section, bought the cheapest one I could find, and tried to avoid eye contact with the cashier as she secretly judged me. Chris then proceeded to drive me to the nearest gas station and said “good luck”. Now that is LOVE….and class. My hands were shaking as I tried to pee on the stick thinking the entire time that it’s just the stomach flu. I threw it in my purse and went back to the car. I couldn’t look at it alone. We took a deep breath and looked….and I was right. STOMACH FLU! Or at least not the other thing that I don’t want to say less I jinx myself.

After knowing, I started to feel a little better. I actually enjoyed the rest of the day and into the evening when we went to the Home of the Throwed Rolls. I ate an entire 20-ounce steak…and the pass arounds too.

Monday morning, we headed back to St. Louis. About half-way through the drive, I started sneezing like crazy. Tuesday, I was so miserably sick I left work early. Between the stomach illness and the ridiculous allergies, I just wanted to die. I spent the entire day Tuesday in bed.

Oh and to top off this wonderful week of illness, it’s the busiest week at work. Long days, a lot of stress and no end in sight. I’ll be working 10 hours or more for the rest of the week as well as working Saturday and another 12 hour day on Monday. All I can say is GAHHHH!