Busy, busy, busy

Hi everyone:

Okay, this is going to be a bitchy posting; apologies are hereby being offered in advance.

Yesterday, our family stayed at the Holiday Inn Elmhurst, where the Mayan Adventure Indoor Waterpark is housed. We had a great time, and are again grateful to the management of the hotel for making it so easy for us to visit. Patty was even able to swim and use the water slides because she doesn't currently have the milrinone bag and she does have a handy gadget that protects her arm. Of course, her endurance was both minimal and impressive, depending on how you choose to see things. I was fairly impressed. This ends the non-bitchy part of this blog entry.

This morning, and for reasons we've not really defined, most of our family members seemed to be on each other's last nerve. Even when we sought out Greek food for our family fun day (and I almost put the word fun in quotes, just this once), we just didn't seem to capture the magic we had in previous weeks. I think everyone was tired and overwrought from the days before, and the frayed edges have been painfully evident throughout the day. To be honest, I now know I was somewhat insensitive in my planning of this week; in retrospect, I see my expectations as hauntingly reminiscent of Clark W. Griswald in National Lampoon's Vacation. As today progressed, this feeling was reinforced; I could tell that I had stretched Patty to her limits.

After we left the hotel today, we sought out Greek food for lunch and then stopped in for an abbreviated visit at Kevin's home in Oak Park. Patty had been dragging for much of the day, and pretty much decompressed in short order during our visit. She fell asleep within minutes, awakened for a few moments, and just could not pull herself out of a stupor. It's moments like this -- where it becomes so readily apparent that Patty just doesn't have the strength of a healthy person -- that are among the hardest to observe.

In summary, Patty was barely staying awake, we were both feeling overwhelmed by the battles with our children (one that happened while we were visiting), and the ride home seemed to be a chore best put behind us. We ended up packing up our brood and hitting the road on embarrassingly short notice. We owe one to Kevin and Sharon, and to their other guests, for being gracious while we were being mental basket cases.

To give you an idea about why this message is bitchy--in the time I've been writing this, Patty and I have adjudicated three major battles between the kids. This has truly been one of those days. Next family fun day will be a better one, I'm sure. And hopefully tomorrow will bring a sunnier posting.

Love,
Brian