My Sister's Intuition

My week, to say the least, has been rough. As you will recall from my last post, it started about this time last Saturday when I found out that a dear friend had lost one of her children. My heart has been heavy for her all week.

Then Monday, I was on my way home from exercising in the wee still hours of the morning (okay, so it was 7:00, but it's still dark at 7, so that counts) and I was in a car accident. I was turning off of Main St. on to my street and someone turning left on to Main St. didn't see me sitting in the turn lane and they crunched into the front end of me. Stella (my car, in case you haven't been introduced- she is great) sustained close to $2,100 in damages, but luckily it was all cosmetic and nothing to the axels or frame or anything like that. If she had to have plastic surgery, her damage would be akin to needing a skin graft and some stitches. If I can get a picture from the body shop, I will post them later.

Tuesday, I woke up and could feel myself getting slammed with a cold. Colds are frequently harder on me than on many others- they take me close to two weeks to totally get over. Multiple days of work are usually missed. This did not bode well for me because I had approximately 2.3 basquillion things to get done at work because I was headed out of town Wednesday morning for close to a week. But, my body had a different idea than my schedule and I got some of the things done and went home and blearily packed my suitcase. To tell you the truth, I am slightly surprised that I didn't pack 19 pairs of socks, 2 changes of underwear, 13 pairs of shoes and no pants.

Oh, and to top Tuesday off, and this goes back to the accident, I got the rental car they had given me stuck in the driveway of my house! Since Stella wasn't safe to drive due to a combination of the weather, the location of her damage and the exposure of some wiring and other parts, I was set up with a rental car, which, in theory, I was going to be able to keep for the week and then just return when I got back from my little sojurn to parts East. Yeah, right. Insurance only covers the rental until my car is fixed and no matter how many times I tried to explain the situation to the lovely people at my insurance, they just didn't get it. So, I decided to take the car back early.

Blessedly, Nancee, a lovely lady with whom I work, offered to drive me to and from the airport Wednesday. Which was a bonus because that meant I got to doze and I figured I would need all the sleep I can get because even in my healthiest of states, taking care of two precious little boys all by my onesies was going to be a task.

Wednesday was relatively uneventful. Traveling has not ever been a big deal for me- I was a little worried about having a cold and what affect the cabin pressure would have on clogged sinuses, but antihistamine + dramamine + chewing gum = no prob Bob! Oh, and I have to say that I tasted a little slice of heaven at the SLC airport. I got a french toast bagel with strawberry cream cheese from the Great Amercan Bagel Bakery. Oh my stars & garters, it was incredible! Maybe I was just really hungry, but I felt an intense amount of love for that bagel.

The fun little thing with my travels was running into a couple from Provo while I was laid over in Chicago. They were on their way home from an 18 month LDS mission in Germany. It was a great reassurance to me in the hour of my sickness. They were super fun people and I bet they are having a grand time with their family this weekend. I am trying desperately to remember their last names- it started with an S, sounded German and had -ing at the end.

My sis Wendy picked me up from the airport and we ran over all the instructions on how things were to go. I could tell she was worried about how sick I was/am, but it was fun to get there and visit and see her sweet little family before everyone needed to go to bed. The plan was for Wendy and her hubbin' Will to leave fairly early Thursday morning and go to OKC to look for housing.

Wednesday night's sleep was fitful, at best. So, when I woke up Thursday morning and Wendy said she had decided not to go, I felt a huge sigh of relief! Not that I didn't want to watch my buddies, of course I did, but I was just really worried about being able to take care of them when I was so sick. I am grateful for her mother's/sister's intuition that let her know she needed to stay here. I needed it- the boys needed it- it was just a good thing. Especially after Thursday night's attempt at sleep.

I am not necessarily prone to panic or anxiety attacks and such, but I had one such incident during the middle of the night on Thursday. I woke up about 1230 or so out of some kind of a nightmare (no idea what was happening), terrified that something was wrong with one of hte boys. I went and checked on them and they were sleeping peacefully (side note: is there anything more precious than watching a child sleep? I doubt it). I however, was not peaceful at all. I was shaky, sweaty, nauseated, my heart was beating quickly, I thought I had a fever. I couldn't calm down- I tried laying down, but rest was not to be for a bit. I even woke Wendy up to find a thermometer (sorry Wens!). Finally, at some point, I threw up, so I figured I was good. Oh no- I was in and out of the bathroom for the next who knows how long. It was long after 2:00 when I finally went back to sleep. I prayed and plead with the Lord, at my bed and sitting by the toilet. Finally, sleep came.

Lest you think it was all a bad week, it most certainly has not been! I have had a grand time with my sister and her wonderful funny smart boys! We've been to Target, which is always a grand time, we went to a fantastic children's museum, sang many silly songs, watched new shows, had yummy food, laughed, played and had many good times.

It's just been one of those learning weeks that I would be okay with if didn't happen again for a really, really long time. And now I need to go find a kleenex for approximately the 1.3 trillionth time in the past two days.