Almost Didn't Get Here

Katie and I are back from our Mommy and Daughter trip. However, we almost didn't make it. Because of weather in Dallas, our flight out of Chicago was delayed. We had to go stand-by on the last flight into Abilene and thankfully we cleared that wait list. About 30 minutes out of Abilene a crashing migraine started in my head. To top it off, we were sitting in the last row of the airplane where you feel the turbulence a lot more. My migraines cause me to become nauseous so for the first time in thirty years I had to use the barf bag in the seat back pocket. The food that we received in First Class on the Chicago-Dallas flight ended up in that bag. I grabbed an extra barf bag knowing that I might need it later.

When we arrived into Abilene we ran to the bathroom where I proceeded to throw up some more. The Chrysler SRT8 was at the dealership this week and Rick arranged for the Star Dodge's Service Manager to drop the car off at the airport for me. The poor man was waiting in baggage claim with the keys at 10:30 pm while his wife waited outside the airport in their car. I thanked him profusely, but tried to make it quick because I did not want to puke on his shoes.

Our luggage did not accompany us on our flight, so Katie and I hopped in the Chrysler. I made it five miles down the road and had to pull over into the Wal-Mart parking lot on I-20. I was sick again and I could not get my eyes to focus. I had called Rick (he's in Indianapolis on a teaching assignment) and he proceeded to stay on the phone via U-Connect. I moaned and groaned and puked while he and Katie sang "The Wheels On The Bus." I felt much better and got back on the highway with Rick still on the phone, but had to pull over fifteen miles down the road in Hawley at the Shell station to rest again. I hung up from Rick and slept for about an hour in that parking lot. Finally at 1 a.m. I was able to drive home and broke into tears when I pulled up to our gate--I was never so happy in my life to see those massive white gates. When I drove up to the house, I angled the car so the headlights would shine down the walkway and lo and behold there was a baby snake stretched across the sidewalk. I couldn't make out what type of snake it was so I threw rocks at it and it didn't move. Desperate to get into the house, I picked up Katie and cut a wide path around the snake and into the front yard all of the while saying, "I hope there are no other snakes in the front yard." We made it to the house and I deposited a sleeping Katie on the couch. I grabbed a flashlight and headed outside to get a better look at the snake. It was a bull snake and not a rattlesnake for which I was thankful for I would not have been able to aim the .410 to shoot it if it had been a rattler.

I called Rick and woke him up. He was curt on the phone--understandably so, he had to teach this morning and was beyond stressed--and told me I had to make a doctor's appointment. Rick actually wanted to call EMS when I was in Wal-Mart's parking lot but I didn't know if they would let me keep Katie with me in the ambulance and in the ER. I had visions of them calling CPS to watch her for the night, so I pleaded with Rick not to call EMS.

Anyway, to recap, a drive that is normally 40 minutes long took me three hours last night. It was without a doubt the worse driving experience I ever had and that includes driving in white-out blizzards, torrential downpours, high winds, bumper-to-bumper traffic and narrow jungle roads in third world countries. Today I feel better, but not top-notch. American called and our bags will be delivered this afternoon. I will blog about our trip to my Mom and Dad's at another time. Right now I need to curl up on my bed.