That’s What Family Is For (Part 2)

I woke up a little bit ago with a kink in my neck, and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I came out to read my morning email and news sites.  As I’m reading about the big ads from the Super Bowl last night, it hit me.  One year ago, on Super Bowl Sunday, I was the one who needed help.  My situation wasn’t quite as urgent as Michelle’s was yesterday, but I got heroic response from family, all the same. 

On that Sunday in 2008, Ryan had stayed the night at my Mom’s house.  We were going to drive down and pick him up later that afternoon.  In the mean time, Allison and I decided to take advantage of being without the kid and went to see a movie at the Putnam Museum’s Imax theater.  (Batman, if I recall correctly.)  We got there in the early afternoon, and after parking the car, we headed in to the museum.  It was about that time that Allison realized she had locked the keys in the car. 

After a bit of frantic searching pockets and checking the locks on the car doors, we confirmed we were in trouble.  I think we called a locksmith or two to ask for prices on unlocking the doors, but in the end, we decided to call Mom.  The line of thinking went something like this: “Hey Mom, instead of us driving down to get Ryan, could you bring him up here?  And while you’re in town, swing by the museum and pick us up so we can get the spare keys from home.”  Well, it sounded like a good idea at the time.  Allison and I went on into the museum to watch the movie, and 2+ hours passed.  We expected Mom would probably be waiting outside when we got out. 

Instead, we found inches of snow on the ground outside, and heavy snow still coming down.  I called to check on Mom, and found out that she wasn’t coming alone.  Before leaving, she had contacted my Grandparents, and they insisted on driving her down here because they were expecting an ice storm.  (Mind you, it was fairly nice out when I called Mom, and I hadn’t seen a weather forecast for the day.)  So, knowing that they would be driving into hazardous weather, my Grandma, Grandpa, and Mom piled into a minivan and came to the rescue.

It took them quite a while to get to the museum, due to the weather and also to Grandpa’s not being familiar with the Iowa side of the river and where the museum is.  When they did arrive, it was in almost zero visibility, and very hazardous road conditions.  The snow had fallen so quickly, plows couldn’t keep up.  Still, with Grandpa at the wheel, we slowly began the drive back across the river to my house.  At the house, Grandpa pulled into my (Inclined, Snow Covered) driveway, and had to really fight to get the van far enough into the drive to be out of the street.  In the process, he got off to the right side of the drive, and stuck in a snowy rut.  We got him out, and everyone came inside for pizza while we waited out the snow.  The Super Bowl was on TV, and Pizza Hut was delivering even in the bad weather. 

An hour or so later, the snow let up, and Grandma, Grandpa, and Mom piled back into the van to drive home.  They made it safely, and now this is a funny story.  A year ago though, it was a big reminder that when you are in a bind and really need help, “You Find Out Who Your Friends Are”.  (Or, in my case, “That’s What Family Is For.”

 

P.S. Allison and I waited until the next day to drive back to the putnam with the spare set of keys. 

Another weekend wasted, and it’s all Mom’s fault

It’s Sunday evening, the end of the weekend.  Tomorrow Allison and I will return to work, and Ryan to school to start a new week.  So, what did I do this weekend?  Nothing.  Well, not quite nothing.  I read.  Other than that though, I did nothing.  I didn’t even get dressed.  I laid around the house all weekend and read a couple of books by my favorite authors.  See, for Christmas, Mom bought be a new book.  It was on my wish list, had been for a year or more, so it was a good choice.  But the trouble is, once I start reading, I can’t quit.  If I get into a good book, then I want another, and another, and another.  So, I’ve been to the library 5 or 6 times in the last 2 weeks.  I picked up a couple of good books by Stephen J. Cannell, and a couple by J.A. Jance.  I also grabbed books from a couple of authors I hadn’t read before, including David Baldacci.  These are all excellent authors, and the books are all page turners.  They all write much better than I do, as evidenced by this post.  Anyway, because mom bought me a good book, I have been reading every free minute for the last week or two, and haven’t accomplished much of anything.  And it’s all Mom’s fault.

Oh, one exciting thing did happen this weekend… Ryan got to go see the Globetrotters today with his Grandma Connie.  He got a red white and blue basketball, and got 2 autographs on the ball to go along with the autographed T-shirt he got 2 or 3 years ago. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

It's now the very early hours of Christmas Day, 2008, and I find myself preparing to turn in.  Tonight was Christmas with Mom's side of the family, and Mom and Brad gave everyone their gifts.  To be quite honest, I'm not sure I could ask for anything more from Christmas this year, except maybe to spend some time at Dad's side family dinner tomorrow.  Still, even though I'll miss that, it's been a great holiday. 

Ryan received 7 new books from Mom tonight, from his favorite series.  In fact, 3 of the books continue a series he thought had ended, so he was utterly shocked when he opened the books.  On top of that, he got a few 'fun' things as well, including his first mini mag-lite. 

Allison got a gift card to one of her favorite Restaurants, plus a gift that I am still not even sure we should accept -- one of Grandma Dunn's Christmas ornaments.  You see, Mom has her entire tree decorated in ornaments that Grandma Dunn either made or painted (ceramics) over the years.  It's really beautiful, and I'm amazed that she was willing to share one with us this year.  It is really something special.

As for me?  I got several items from my wishlist, including 2 Alabama CD's, the 'Inspirational' album which contains mostly Christian songs performed by the boys, and the 'Livin, Lovin, Rockin Rollin', a set of 3 CD's with some of the great hits and a few never before released songs.  I spent quite a while paging through the book that comes with it, just reading some info about the Alabama boys I never knew.  I was really impressed with the set.  I haven't had the chance to actually LISTEN to it yet, but just reading the material, including background info about each song in the set, I love the set already.  Most of the songs I've already heard many times over, but there's a lot more to the set than just songs. 

In the morning, I expect Santa will have brought some great new gifts for Ryan, and then we'll stop by Dad's house on the way out of town.  We're heading to Galesburg for lunch with Allison's family, and then home for the night since I have to work Friday morning.  All in all, a busy holiday as always, but I can't remember one I've enjoyed more. 

Oh, one last thing.  Let me leave you with this link to a true Christmas classic, which should bring a smile to the face of most everyone under 60ish.  Enjoy this Christmas song.

An early start to Christmas

In order to avoid possible weather delays caused by this evening's storm, Allison and I left work a little early today to head out and visit family. Once we got to my Mom's house, I insisted that everyone there open presents from us right away. What can I say, I can't help but be excited to see others open what I've wrapped up for them.

So, Mom has a new Hearing assistance device which will hopefully help her hear the phone better. Allison was lucky enough to get a new Camera and a couple of her perrenial gifts, the Cookie Crunch candle. Ryan has already read 3 of his 4 new pocket adventure books, and is looking forward to playing the 2nd Edition Harry Potter Scene It game. Oh, and me? I scored pretty well too. I came away with the latest edition of one of my favorite book series (Uncle John's Bathroom Reader), Rascal Flatts Greatest Hits Volume 1, and an outfit for William that has tools down the front and 'Daddy's Buddy' on the breast pocket. All in all, a Very Merry Christmas.

And Christmas Eve isn't even here yet!