Traditions

It is always nice when you get married and get to start your own traditions with your own little family. In our family we have a tradition that goes like this: "If one spouse plans a surprise, non-refundable get-away for the other, the to-be-surprised spouse will end up in the E.R." We are 2 for 2 on this one.

You may recall a couple summers ago when I planned a surprise overnight kid-free getaway to NYC while we were vacationing in Connecticut. The day before our trip Bryce ended up in the E.R. with what turned out to be a gastro-intestinal infection caused by cow-feces-contaminated water consumed at Scout camp a few days before. That put a bit of a damper on our getaway.

This year Bryce planned a surprise kid-free overnighter as a Valentine's Day present. I ended up in the E.R. with a kidney stone. Luckily, I had 5.5 days between my E.R. visit and our trip. Unluckily that time was spent having lithotripsy and not getting out of bed. We couldn't reschedule the trip and it was already paid for and we already had Mollie lined up to stay overnight with the boys so we decided to go anyways. I was still in a lot of pain from the lithotripsy, but I don't pass up opportunities to get away.

We stayed at the Homestead Resort and went to Park City to shop at the outlets and went out to dinner. Later that night we decided to go to the hot tub before it closed. Unfortunately we hadn't remembered that we would have to walk outdoors from our room to the main building where the pool/hot tub are so we looked kind of strange walking around in our bathing suits, coats, and shoes. I thought the hot tub would be a good idea for my muscle pain and it was a good idea at first. But the change from the heat of the hot tub to the freezing cold of the outside as we walked back to our room in wet bathing suits was a very, very bad idea. The sore muscles in my side went crazy and I couldn't move for about an hour until my next dose of painkillers set in.

The next morning we had breakfast at the hotel (included in the package Bryce purchased) and headed home.

Did I mention Mollie babysat? So we came home to a clean house. It wasn't until the next day that I discovered that she had also cleaned our unfinished laundry room/bathroom area. It was full of construction debris and drywall dust and lint, etc. But now it is all clean. Like even the lint stuck down the side of the drier that would have been there until we moved out of this house. Sorry, she is not for hire. (Especially not now that she is going to Harvard. I don't think we can afford her anymore.)

Dear Bryce,
No more surprise overnighters for each other ok? I am tired of the E.R.
Love,
Erin