The Trip that Almost Was But Wasn't

Thanks to all of you for your well-wishes and prayers in the loss of my Grandpa. I made a monumental effort to prepare for the trip and I was simply amazed at what a little pressure can cause one to accomplish as I flew around on Friday running tons of errands,doing final loads of laundry, packing, cleaning, cooking up a storm, and dealing with phone calls, last minute details, trip plans, etc. Of course that was the day I also took Jer to the doctor at my hubby's insistence because a cough he has had for a couple of weeks just isn't going away. The doctor discovered he has an ear infection and mentioned that RSV has been going around. They gave him a decongestant for the cough, but it's viral, so it's just a wait-it-out sort of thing. I still had plans to go to MN after that visit since he didn't seem too sick and we had the meds in hand. But that night he hacked and coughed miserably (the medicine seemed to make his cough worse) and I laid awake half the night praying and agonizing over whether or not to go. I had so many cousins counting on me to be there; people I hadn't seen in many years, and I knew my in-laws were looking forward to a quick visit from their grandkids too. My brother was excited to travel with us and he's been really nice to me lately and I was hoping we could talk about spiritual things (he's not a Christian). I wanted to be there to hug my Grandma and mourn with others who loved my Grandpa too. I wanted to be there for my Dad, who is suffering one of the hardest pains of his life and I wanted to see for myself that Grandpa is really gone. So, back and forth I agonized and prayed, knowing with each terrible bout of Jer's coughing that as a Mama, the best thing I could do for my child was stay home. Finally, an hour before we were to leave, I made the final decision not to go. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make, but boy am I relieved that I did! All Saturday and Sunday Jer fussed and started acting like he really did have an ear infection and wanted to be held. Can you imagine 36 hours in a car with that? His coughing bouts have been scarier and scarier at night and it looks like we're in for another trip to the Doctor today or tomorrow as I'm pretty sure he has bronchitis or bronchiolitis and would like to see if they can give me a breathing treatment or something to ease his choking, breathless coughs. Due to the missed sleep because of his coughing bouts, I've been extra tired and nauseous for the last few days (my nausea becomes aggravated by fatigue). So, when I think of our circumstances right now, I'm thankful God laid it on my heart to stay and help me make that tough decision.
One blessing is not having to be apart from King Jo, something I always hate! When he goes on a snowmobiling trip away or I go away once a year for a Ladies' Night or something it is always hard to be apart, especially if it's half a week to a week. I even had 3 e-cards all lined up to be sent to him once a day to tell him how much we missed him while we were gone. I had stuffed the fridge to the gills with casseroles, homemade bread, and things for him to eat. No, he's not a helpless male that can't boil Rice-A-Roni or make a frozen pizza but something about grieving drives me to cook, and huge quantities of food at that! So, he would have been set for over a week, but the good news is that now that we all stayed home, I haven't had to cook for a few days while I've been dealing with clingy, whiny, Jeremiah.
Alathia had been so excited to see her cousins in MN that we eased the sting of not going by taking her to McDonalds' with one of her playmates and then I took her on a Mother/Daughter swimming date to the pool.

I appreciate Lyndi's offer to trade wipes with me from her couponing stash and hope that offer still stands since my Pa-in-Law will be coming out in less than 2 weeks to snowmobile.