Was that a vacation? Part 1

Wow! What a crazy week we had. I am not sure I even know where to start and I am guessing this post will be so long, most won't read it, so it will serve more as a journal for me than anything else.



The girls and I left for Texas on Feb. 26 at 8am. We were going to Harlingen, which is near Brownsville, which is on the US/Mexico border. My dad winters there and had begged us to come down. I had told him several times that we would come, but then life always happened and we never made it. He had yet another heart surgery not long ago and I realized that there are no guarantees in life and that I should probably make it down there at least one more time. So, I packed up the girls and we traveled alone to Texas. The Designed stayed home because he just took a week off earlier in the month to go to Florida with us.

I knew that taking a 6 month old and a 3.5 year old (with physical disabilities) on a flight would be a challenge, but I had no idea what the trip had in store for us.

Due to where we were starting and where we were ending and the fact that we were flying on frequent flyer tickets, we had to do a 3 legged trip, which meant two layovers, 3 flights in one day. EEK! I had the double stroller, Bugs walker, our carry on (which included the kitchen sink!) and both kids. We must have been a sight!

The Designer dropped us off at the airport and helped us get our checked bags in and then he took off. The girls and I were off...

I don't think I have ever mentioned airport security on my blog before. Let me just tell you, it is intense for us. First, Bug can't walk through the detector on her own. Her walker won't fit. The stroller has to go through the machine thingy, but it is a double so it doesn't fit. We hold EVERYONE behind us up every time we travel. All sorts of people gawk at us and sigh loudly, but few offer assistance. Anyway, since Bug has leg braces with plastic and metal, she gets extra "attention." So I take off my shoes, my belt and empty my pockets. I load all of that up on the conveyor belt and, of course, the carry on bag and then I stroll the stroller over to the little "door" and wait, and wait, and wait until someone decides to assist us. I bring the girls in and they pat down Princess. Then they pat down Bug and do the extra swab things to her leg braces. Then they pat me down and scan me and all that jazz. Meanwhile, my bag, purse, belongings, shoes, etc. are all on the other side of the wall, just sitting there for the free world to take, should they so choose. Fortunately, no one took our stuff and all was well.

To board the plane I decided to put Princess in the carrier I made and leave Bug in the stroller. I wheeled her all the way to the end of the (what is that thing called?) and then I have to carefully take Bug out, balance her against the wall, break down the stroller, put that and the walker to the side and somehow now carry Bug, the carry on (which seriously weighed 25 pounds) and Princess down the tiny, narrow aisle of the plane. I asked for help from the flight crew, but that didn't happen on the first flight. We got settled into our seats and we were off.

We arrived in Detroit late (delayed for the deicing that they had to perform before we took off) and two very nice ladies helped me get off the plane. One lady ran ahead to find out which gate we were supposed to go to next and to ask them to hold the plane because we were going to miss the connection. The gate agent couldn't (wouldn't?) call the other gate so we had to run from one end of the airport to the other (I'm not joking...it was literally one end to the other) and we arrived just as the last people were boarding. I didn't have time to use the restroom or cath Bug or change Princesses diaper, so once we were settled and off the ground I managed to get the three of us in one of those tiny little airplane bathrooms and did just that. It was INSANE!

We arrived in Houston late (once again delayed for deicing!) and so when I deplaned I asked where I had to go. Since the airline we started with didn't go into the city we were heading to, I had to change airlines. That meant I had to leave one section of the airport and go to a completely different, which then meant that I had to go through security AGAIN! What a pain in the booty. By the time we did all of that, we had missed our connection. The next flight out was full, so we were standby. The next flight we were guaranteed seats on was not to leave for over 6 hours. So, we made ourselves comfy, ate some food and rested. We finally arrived in Texas 14 hours after we left our house that same day.

(oh man, this is going to be crazy long....)

I think I have insinuated in past blogs that my dad and I don't always get along the best. He became my father when I was 2 and legally when he adopted me at age 5. I would do anything in the world for him, but I do see him as a very selfish person and our relationship does struggle from that sometimes. With that said...

My dad stays in Harlingen, TX for the winters. He lives in a mobile home retirement community. He is the youngest person in the park by a LONG shot! He likes to live there because the oldies "need" him (according to him) and that makes him feel young and vibrant. His place is decent, but very small. The walls are paper thin and it only has 2 bedrooms. We arrived late at night, the girls were tired (as was I) so I got them ready and promptly put them to bed. The slight problem was that there was only 1 bed and 3 of us. So, I made a comfy spot for Princess on the floor near the bed and Bug and I shared a bed. Princess spent much of the night in the bed with us as she was not familiar with the place and not so happy about sleeping on the floor (would you be?). I got a total of about 2 hours of sleep. I was exhausted the next day.

Sadly, the first and second full day we were there Bug was a terrible brat. Now that is really out of character for her. She is a very polite little girl. Uses manners 99% of the time. She snuggles and loves on everyone. But not these two days. Nope, not her! She was mean and fussy. My dad immediately got irritated and started making negative comments about her. That pissed me off right from the start. I explained to him that she is out of her element, she is tired (from not sleeping much) and she is 3, for pity sake. He would hear nothing of it. He started showing preferential treatment to Princess. If you know me, you know that I do not allow either of my children to be treated poorly, so there was a lot of strife around there.

On Thursday (2nd full day) we went to the zoo. Bug did ok, but definitely could have been better. On Friday we went to South Padre Island. I was so looking forward to going there. I expected to have sunshine and warmth. I figured Bug and Princess would love being outdoors, near the Gulf of Mexico. Instead, Bug cried most of the time and the weather was awful. It rained some and was extremely windy.

Saturday morning Bug woke up screaming in pain. When I finally calmed her down enough, I understood that she was saying her stomach was hurting her. I asked my dad if there were any

walk-in medi-centers. He wasn't sure and thought I was overreacting. He thought Bug was just being a "brat" again. I know my daughter and I know that she doesn't act like this unless something is terribly wrong. Since my dad was no help with regards to a medi-center, I asked for a phonebook. Mind you, it is 6am and still dark outside. I am tired, emotional and scared for Bug. Finally I just ask him to take us to the hospital. He agrees and takes us to one of the two hospitals in town.

(I will continue this story in Part 2 for the sake of anyone who might actually take the time to read through this.)