Weekend From Hell

Drawing by MEK

It started Friday night.  The night was spent moving my niece out of college.  We couldn't use my truck because it's broken, so we had to impose on someone else to borrow their truck.

Saturday I had a Lay Dominican Regional Meeting.  I got lost driving there.  I wasn't late but it frazzled me a bit.  At least I got to go to Confession.

Saturday night, my niece and I gave each other manicures and pedicures.  We spilled nail polish on the carpet.  We couldn't wipe it all up.  Luckily the design is persian rug and it's so busy the spill isn't that noticeable.

Early Sunday morning, 4:00 AM the phone rang.  Being asleep and slow to respond, we let the answer machine take the call.  I was surprised to hear my niece's voice!  That woke me up; after all she's asleep in the same house as me!  I couldn't understand what was going on, so I got out of bed and went to listen to the machine.  She was crying because she was in pain.  I went to her bedroom and found her head in the wastebasket vomiting.  The poor kid had been vomiting for hours and in acute pain.

There we were in the emergency room at 4:30 AM.  The ER was a mad house.  So many children crying.  We were in a room for procedures but most of the time we were stuck in the hall.  I was so tired, hungry and thirsty.  She had a cat scan and a sonogram but everything looked fine.  .They were thinking of sending her home but her pain was worse and she felt nauseous.  The morphine was useless.  The only thing left was surgery.

So I went home at 11:30 AM.  I was tired, hungry and needed coffee.  I walked in on a brunch--a Mother's Day Brunch my kids had planned.  "Happy Mother's Day!"  "Oh yeah."  The kitchen was a mess from everyone cooking.  The weather was unseasonably hot and I was dressed for 4:00 AM weather.  I'm trying to say, I felt too miserable to enjoy the Mother's Day surprise.  I couldn't wait for everyone to leave so I could change into cooler clothes and take a long nap.

Besides!  I didn't get to Mass.  I suppose I could have gone to the 5:00 PM but I blew it off.  And I just went to confession, yesterday!

After a little nap, I had a new attitude.  I went to visit my niece in the hospital, who felt much better without her appendix.  It was inflamed.  She'll come home tomorrow.

All's well that ends well.  At least our finger and toe nails looked nice.