Weekend getaway

Spent a weekend in the mountains of Maryland at the cabin of my college roommate, Charon, and her 8-year-old son, Cameron (who Rachel calls "Cammy"). Some highlights (or lowlights, as you shall see):

--It was raining when we went up there. We were prepared for it, but it didn't make Friday (the day we left) any more promising. The kids got whiny toward late afternoon, and Drew told Rachel that if he heard two words -- "I want" -- one more time, that would be a sure way of her NOT getting what she wanted. That seemed to impress her. Drew was cranky because of lack of sleep and of what he felt was being rushed through antique stores (where I saw about $2,000 worth of furniture that would look gorgeous in a guest room, except that we don't have the space), I was cranky because I was determined to enjoy this little mini-vacation. We ended up at a restaurant where I ordered the most god-awful steak I've ever eaten in my life (but an awesome apple and caramel flavored martini, which helped), and Drew graciously offered to trade his burger for my steak. So, not a total loss. We all went home, got the kids to bed, got ourselves to bed around 11 p.m., only to be woken up at 5:30 a.m. by the LOUD sound of children's voices, and I thought I'd go out of my mind if I had a second day of no sleep. Could it get worse? Yes, indeedy, it could!

--After we were forced out of bed, Drew went downstairs to the basement to take a shower, and Rachel and I cuddled in the huge king-sized bed where we were sleeping. I reminded her of the time she had accidentally (I assume) punched me in the eye in her sleep while we were at Grandma and Grandpa's house for Rosh Hashanah, and she proceeded to demonstrate what she had done, and then poked me in the breast by accident, and when I shrieked, "OW!!!" she got off the bed in a huff, grabbed her crutches and tried to go down the stairs -- and proceeded to FALL ALL THE WAY DOWN AND LAND SMACK ON THE SIDE OF HER FACE ON THE SLATE FLOOR. I will never forget her shrieks of agony, which sent Charon and I running up to her. I threw aside her crutches and carried her back upstairs (the staircase is unusually narrow), and asked Charon, who was on the verge of crying, if she had any ice. No. Well then, I said, trying to stay calm, how about putting cold water on a bunch of towels? Rachel had a nickel-sized gash near her right eye and she was moaning in agony about a bruised wrist, and all the while she kept apologizing and sobbing, "You're the best mommy in the world," and I was trying mightily not to scold her for trying to use her crutches on the stairs (which we have told her over and over not to do), and then Drew came upstairs, and the drama continued (he did, in fact, scold her), and I almost started crying when I noticed a huge egg-like bump protruding from Rachel's forehead; it looked like an abnormal growth), and then he and Charon talked about what hospitals or clinics or doctor's offices would be open in rural Maryland on a Saturday, and then he, Charon and Cameron all went to Rite-Aid and brought back ice packs, ibuprofin and Band-Aids. Meanwhile, I got back into bed next to Rachel and she asked me to tell her a story, and I told her a long, involved story about the adventures of two guinea pigs (Courtney and Chrissy, the names of the guinea pigs Drew and I had in St. Paul), and she fell asleep halfway through. Cameron had thoughtfully brought Rachel back a get-well card with a kitten on it.

--So, Rachel insisted she was fine, and we all got ourselves dressed to go to the Garrett County Autumn Glory parade, which was a pretty good one as parades go. It had been steadily drizzling all morning, right up until the start of the parade, but luckily the worst of it held off during the actual parade, which was full of bands and princesses and Shriners and acrobats. Cameron let Rachel sit in his little folding chair, so she got a fine view of the festivities. Then we went to an antiques show at the local armory, which we had to pay to get into and it wasn't very good -- and poor Rachel was so tuckered out that she fell asleep on my (and then Drew's) lap. We took the shuttle bus back to the parking lot, then raced to the county fairgrounds to catch the last of what turned out to be a great crafts festival. I bought pumpkin fudge (out of this world), an alpaca hat, some jewelry and some lovely bath salts to use on my hands to make them soft and smooth. The day was definitely looking up at this point, plus the sun had come out. Then we went to a great buffet restaurant, Penn Alps, for dinner, got the kids home and then Drew, Charon and I discussed what our costumes will be for the Halloween party at Charon's country club in two weeks. And then it was time for bed. Luckily the children were quiet this morning, Rachel's wrist seems to be okay for the moment, and we left around 10 a.m.

I am calling a moratorium on any more Rachel accidents for the rest of the year.