We've Had Better Days...

So today was the first alleged day of "freedom", since the girls finished their school year yesterday. I had been looking forward to a leisurely day of running errands, but should have known things wouldn't go as I had planned. We spent the entire morning in the ER today, because Daddy Dude had severe abdominal pains... we thought it was probably a bad case of food poisoning, but there were some other symptoms that caused some concern, so off to the hospital we went.


Really, though, we were very lucky - we were in and out of there within 3.5 hours. The ER didn't seem too busy and perhaps Daddy Dude's connections were helpful (but honestly, that didn't seem to matter - things just went pretty smoothly). He's still in a significant amount of pain, but the catscan didn't exhibit any serious concerns, so back home we went.

(not before, however, Mika pointedly and accusedly said to me, "You know, Mommy - this is taking a really long time!" Like, it was MY fault, like I wanted to be in the ER. She had said something similiar on Monday, after I told her my soccer game had been cancelled b/c we had to forfeit (enough players were available). "You know, Mommy - I had really been looking forward to going to your soccer game." Yeah, kid - you and me both!)

Lucky for me, though, Daddy Dude is a really nice guy and allowed me to turn the hospital TV to PBS so the girls got to watch TV there. This, however, didn't stop Marika from whining about how hungry she was. I tell you, the selfishness of this age is really disheartening. I gave them a big lecture later that afternoon, about how it "wasn't all about them" and how nobody had wanted to be in the ER, but that Daddy Dude had to be taken care of. I was greeted with mumbles of "Okay, Mommy" and figured it all went in one ear and out the other.

But... I was very pleasantly proven wrong later that evening. The girls worked quietly in the Fun Room (that's where all the crafts stuff is) in the afternoon, but when they came down for dinner, they surprised Daddy Dude with "Get Well" cards - completely without any prompting from me! I was proud of them... so proud that they could finally stop thinking only of themselves, at least for a little while. Whew!

So yesterday was the last day of school for both girls. I cannot tell you how relieved I was! It's been a long year and both girls have worked really hard, so it is high time for them to take a well-deserved break. Today obviously wasn't ideal for them, so hopefully the rest of the weekend will be uneventful.

As for me, I seriously need more sleep. Running 30 miles a week, plus the soccer games, is starting to drain me... getting 5 or less hours of sleep a night on top of all that is making me feel like I have serial mono! As if that wasn't bad enough, I was really depressed that after all the regular exercise over the past 15 months, I found that I weigh one pound more than last year. However, I knew I'd lost a few inches around the waist/hips and my doctor had scribbled, "Great!" on my lab tests (Daddy Dude said they were pretty darn good, which is high praise from him), so I guess it's been worthwhile. I just wish I didn't have to drink so much caffeine to keep going... (which is why I feel so crappy this week - I've been weaning myself off it...). *sigh*