Tuesday, June 29, 2010

It's been Way TOO Long... (part one)

To say that my time has NOT been my own since my last post is a major understatement!

One of my favorite sites http://www.atcsforall.com/ was having a Zen-a-Thon weekend starting on May 14, 2010, and I thought I would finally be able to join in on the fun... I created quite a few ATCs for the event that I will share within the next couple of posts. I was very excited because almost all of my cards were traded! I thought this would be a great begining for Spring/Summer 2010...

On Saturday, May 15, 2010, my father passed away – he would have been 86 on July 4th.
 A Christmas Holiday tradition that I had with my Dad was to make biscotti for everyone. When “we” were younger, Mom, Dad and I would make the cookies together, then when Mom passed away I started making the dough and bringing it to my father so that he could bake the cookies. In the past, say, six years I did it all. Now, if you don’t know about biscotti, the cookie is double baked, so they do take a lot of time to make. This past Christmas I was not able to make the cookies, so I promised him that I would have them all made for him by Memorial Day weekend, as everyone really looks forward to the cookies. So for two and a half days I created 16 pounds of biscotti.
  So now we get on with our week and on Friday, just prior to my leaving for my sister’s house and then on to the wake we get a call from my father-in-law – he was on his way from Fredericksburg, VA to Reddick, IL to be with my sister-in-law that just had the back surgery – he had an accident. He told us that he was okay and that the only damage was that the driver side mirror was “dangling”. He said that someone hauling a boat passed him on an on-ramp and that they hit him. No ticket was issued and they both went on their way. This was when he was in southern Virginia so he still has a way to go to get to Illinois. I arrive at my sister’s and we make sure we have everything, and everyone that is supposed to come with us to the wake and we are about to leave when my husband, Scott, calls me to tell me he just received a call from his partner…
  Larry was at the hospital visiting his Dad (92±)and then went over to check on his mother. He walked in the condo and found her on the couch. He called the paramedics and they in turn called the coroner. So, Scott comes to the wake for a bit and I send him off to Larry’s to make sure that he is alright. After the wake the family, my siblings, their spouses and all the kids head over to a local restaurant for dinner. Scott meets me over there and he tells me that Larry is fine and that he was sorry that he didn’t make it to the wake, I think I understand the circumstances and can give him a break on that one. I’ve known Larry for over almost 30 years. His late wife and I were very close friends before I met my husband.
  Anyway, after dinner (it’s now about 11:30pm CT) Scott and I get in the car and he has a message from his father – “I’m not feeling great, my back hurts, I am very sweaty, I think I’ll sleep in and get moving again later in the morning”. OK, what exactly does that mean???
  The next morning we are up early, and head over to the church for the funeral. During the mass I can feel Scott’s phone vibrating at least three times. After mass, he gets his messages and finds out what is going on.
  It seems that his father took a wrong turn on the expressway and he left a message for Scott “they changed all the %^@ signs and I’m not sure where I am…” So, Scott’s sister was trying to get a “rescue party” together to go get his father in Shelbyville, Kentucky (we live near the Wisconsin border outside of Chicago), and bring him to Reddick, IL. Oh boy, I know what this means, we will be going to Kentucky later today. Scott finally told him to get off the highway go to the nearest hotel and have the manager call him to find out exactly where he is (which was really outside Indianapolis, Indiana) so that we can rescue him and his car and bring him to Susan’s.
  Now Scott has three siblings, the sister that just had her surgery, a brother and another sister. Of course Susan could not go get him, she just had back surgery. His brother and sister had “other plans”. Hummmmm what do they think we have going on? Nothing???
  Having said all that, we received the call from the hotel manager and it seems that he was really outside Indianapolis. After spending a bit of time with my family, and Scott going home to get me a change of clothes we headed out to get him. The drive would be about a four hour ride to get him. We had some leftover sandwiches from the funeral lunch to bring with us. We saw the damage on the car, it was scrapped up on the driver side but not as bad as I imagined. I figured out why he was so sweaty, he had the heat on – not the air conditioner.
  I drove his car – I don’t think I mentioned that he just bought this car – 2010 Toyota Corolla – if you have an “American butt” don’t purchase this car if you plan on driving long distances – it is one of the most uncomfortable cars I’ve ever driven. The driver’s seat has the “wings” so that you are nestled in the seat – you can’t move. We got to Scott’s sister’s and got him settled in before we headed for home. If I remember correctly we got home about 3:00am CT. That was one long day. As well as a very long week. 

Stay tuned for part two...

1 comment:

  1. Oh dearest Sue, I'm so sorry that you lost your Father, please accept my belated condolences.
    You did have an ordeal rescuing Scott's Dad but you kept your cool and dealt with it - good for you! Hugs and Blessings, Mo

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