24 June 08
What a weekend
Updates here have been sporadic, but its not because nothing is happening to talk about. Nor is it because I’m too busy to write (I’ve honestly been much busier and have found or made the time). It’s been because I’m tired. Tapped out, exhausted. These feelings make me feel reclusive so I hide and try to shore up energy. I’m an introvert. I gain strength and energy on being alone, not being with other people. So I’m gaining strength by being with me. And while I don’t feel like I’ve been gaining strength, I do feel like I’ve at least plugged the whole in the leak. I’m thinking the pressure will lessen soon and I’ll be able to walk away from the crack without looking at it anxiously every few minutes.
But this weekend. This was the bi-annual Huffencooper Whirlwind Family Tour, aka Huff reunion precedes visit Cinnamon’s family in Columbus. And because I’m tired, and because its late, and because I should have been writing a column for Gapers Block about tasty food instead of plugging away here, you get bullet points.
• Isabel, aka The Golden Kitteh, was having a week of tummy upsets. At first we assumed hairballs, due to it being the season. Then I wondered if it was the heat. Then we noticed that it happened exactly one hour after eating. So on Friday morning we bundled her squaling, rowling self off to the vet so they could give her an x-ray. We feared that cancer had metastisized. In reality she ate something that appeared to be plastic and about the size of a nickel and it had worked its way to her small intestine. We rushed her off to a suburban emergency vet and they verified the prognosis of surgery being required and told us we could pick her up on Sunday night or on Monday. Since were planning on being out of town till Monday night we kissed her goodbye, laughed at the “Will Bite” stickers all over her cage, and then walked to the car to head to Ohio.
• To keep our spirits up we snarked about billboards and were thrilled by our discover of Cline Avenue as a faster way to get out of town and avoid the skyway. One of the billboards was for a tourist-friendly Dairy Farm. It promised 4D excitement. 4D? Do you really want smell-o-vision at a dairy farm? I think not!
• Elkhart, Indiana is home to a fantastic drive-up restaraunt. Not only is it 50’sish with its speaker boxes and trays that attach to your windows, but they make their own root beer. I’ve got a thing for root beer. Dogs’n‘suds is my current favorite. This was darned awesome in a frosted mug with little chunks of ice floating on top. We also got burgers that reminded me a bit of those found at Shake Sauce. If they’d come with Shake Sauce and had a toasted bun, I would have been thrilled. They were also half the price as Shake Shack. They also offered dinner deals to folks in particular cars. Alas there is no Prius night. But with the cost of gas getting close to the minimum wage, there just might be soon.
• There is a Leatherman Road in East Sparta, Ohio. Of course there is!
• 77 does not intersect with I-80. Realize this before you get to Youngstown, okay?
• For the most part Andrew’s family are nice people who are kind to me, treat me well, and I can have enjoyable conversations with them. This was not the weekend for much of that.
• However, I was able to impress the pants off of one of his cousins by telling him that I sincerely think that my favorite song about love is “Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash. I blew his mind, apparently. “That’s deep, Cinnamon. Really deep.” My other favorite is “Be My Husband” by Nina Simone. I guess I’m much more one for realistic depictions of love and its struggles than I am one for mushy sentimentality.
• There were plenty of babies and little kids for his mother to coo over. That’s all I’m going to say about the child question. And to the people who thought they were subtle, they weren’t.
• Family really is what you make of it. Blood doesn’t determine much, really. Nor should it.
• We didn’t spend nearly enough time talking to either one of Andrew’s grandparents.
• I really enjoyed my visit with my family. But again, I didn’t spend enoug time with them. Thankfully I got to see one of my nephews both days we were there.
• He has this game he plays called “knocked out”. If you bop him on the head, he falls down and lays with his arms and legs spread out and his tongue lolling out of his mouth. I hear this comes from Cars, I have homework before our next visit to see it for myself. However, he’s also learned that if you ask him a question he doesn’t want to answer, he can outcute you by performing this little game. He’s wicked smart, even if he doesn’t talk much. But he’s seeing a speech therapist and we think it has more to do with confidence level than his comprehension. He gets frustrated if you don’t understand what he wants. I can’t say I blame him.
• Sometimes I get in a groove where I can drive for hours and hours without feeling it. Other times I’m antsy after 5 minutes.
• I’m queen of the 20 minute nap.
• We picked Isabel up on our way home and she’ll be living in our kitchen for the next two weeks. She’s really groggy and slow and not feeling well. She’s got a patch for pain so she doesn’t seem to be hurting, which is good. But she seems very sad. I’m sad that she has to sleep in the kitchen by herself.
• Tiberius is always afraid of her when she comes back from the vet. So even though he didn’t see us for 4 days, he hung out in the closet or under the bed until bedtime last night. And then he decided that the only place to sleep was on my head. Seeing as how I haven’t slept well for months now, his neediness almost cause me a nervous breakdown overnight. My agony just made him more clingy.
• I’m ready for a vacation that involves nothing. Sleeping in, reading, taking walks or bike rides, that’s it. I think I’ll be taking one of those staycations very soon.
Comments
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wow…what a recap! If we ever get the half-wheeler for the kid, you’re welcome to join us for a ride to the beach. We’re staycationing next week and one day it will be the beach. Miss Smartypants has earned it!
— veronica on Jun 24, 02:17 pm
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that is a whole lot of craziness. what time are we meeting tomorrow? 6;30 pm? (if you want to cancel, I understand!)
— carolyn on Jun 24, 02:25 pm
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Poor Bella, she’s had it rough lately! Next time see if you can find something she’s slept on (or even something you’ve worn) and rub it all over her when she gets back from the vet. Might help Boos not be afraid of her. I think it’s more the lack of familiar smell than the abundance of hospital smell that throws them.
Give her a scritch from me. Hell, throw one in for yourself too ;)
— Brenda on Jun 24, 03:37 pm
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A great (albeit intense) entry. Thanks for sharing.
Staycations are good. Time to yourself to recollect, recontain and just do what you want to do is good.
Personally, I can’t wait till the end of July to head to Key West. I feel that this is the only place I can relax and get away from the trappings of modern culture.
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