So we have been on vacation for a week in Edisto Island. I LOVE that place. The kids had a blast. Even though there isn’t that much to do tourist-y wise, there is plenty of beach and a pool… and it was wonderful. The kids did great and while they ended up with us in our room each night, it was fine. It was bitter sweet to leave Jerry at the end of the week. The plan was to go to the river cabin(my Aunt’s) and put Grace and Elijah is Bible School for a few days and then head to the mountains. Sigh. Best laid plans and all.
We got there and my Aunt’s dogs were there. These dogs are 74 years old in dog years, blind, deaf, asthmatic, arthritic, have tumors, and are about one foot high toy poodles. But regardless, Elijah is TERRIFIED of dogs. People don’t get it. They try to rationalize with him. But he HAS to figure this one out on his own. I respect fear. Everyone has that one thing that scares the crap out of them. For Elijah, it’s dogs. So, it was a LONG first day, but still. We took the kids to the (REALLLLY LOW) river and the kids had fun playing on the floats and jumping in the water. It felt good to be back there. We had a good evening, and though it took the kids a bit to fall asleep, they did. I made their lunches for the next day and read and visited, then turned in. I had weird dreams. The AC in the sleeping area is older than I am. It’s a window unit that blasts freezing air for 5 minutes and then blows air for a bit. Then you burn up until the freezing air comes back on. That, combined with the really weird dreams I had about spiders was equaling crappy sleep. Grace woke up scratching and broken out all over. I gave her some Benedryl and cuddled up with her for a bit. I had barely fallen asleep (again) at 1:30 when Grace woke up, gagging. I grabbed the closest thing I could find (a pillow sham) right as she threw up. In between heaves, I ran her to the bathroom, as quietly as possible. My folks were sleeping on the back porch where the bathroom is located. She threw up a little more (she called it burping…) and said she was ready to go back to bed. SO back to bed we went. By now it’s about 2:00 in the morning. We settle down and we doze on and off. Until about 2:30, when Elijah shifts his weight on his cot and the whole thing falls over… on top of him… and he stays asleep. I move Elijah over to Grace’s cot (a little more stable) while he’s still sleeping. As I am grabbing his blanket to cover him up (this happens to be during one of the five minutes of frigidness) I end up stepping on a stray sand spur that is stuck to his blanket. At this point, I just look up and want to shout many cuss words… alas. So I climb back into bed. At 3:15, as another dream spider tries to crawl up my nose, I wake up and see Grace looking right at me. “Mom, I just can’t sleep.” Poor thing. “Are you okay?” “No, I need to burp.” I sit up…. WHY THE HELL DIDN’T I GRAB A TOWEL? … and she throws up all over me. sigh. Good thing I had a jacket on and now can shed it since the heat has taken over again. Back to the bathroom. I strip her out of her nightgown (how she stayed clean the last round, who can say?) and she throws up a little more. I sit with her curled up on my lap in the bathroom for a bit..well, until 4. I’m pretty sure she isn’t going to throw up anymore (though grabbed some towels just in case) and I’m pretty much everything from my hip down is asleep…and everything from the hip up, is awake.
I find a shirt for Grace to wear and lie down.
Let’s rewind for just a second here. The river, which is the Edisto, is a VERY clean river. A sign of a clean river? leeches. I had on attach itself to me. VERY small, but still, kind eww. Now, fast forward to 4:15, what do I think of? Not the spiders from the earlier dreams, but the fucking leech. Sigh. Eventually, like around 5. I fall asleep. The girl child is starfished across the bed, and I don’t dare move her. She is actually sleeping. I am sleeping without dreaming of horrid things and I hear the dogs bark. Then my Aunt and Uncle get up to walk the dogs, then leave to go on a walk, then my dad wake up… screw it. I stay in bed until 7, but I’m up. I go out to the porch and quietly wake up my mom. I tell her that I am going home with the kids and dad. She tells me she’ll leave today too, and goes back to sleep for a bit. I let the kids sleep until around 8 and then they get up and eat a bit. Well, Elijah eats, Grace picks. HOWEVER, and interesting thing happens. Elijah decides he can pet the dogs. I was very proud of him. He was sitting by one before we left.
My mom drove us all the way home, which was SUPER nice since my kids had melt down after melt down all the way home and I would have left them on the side of the road with a sign saying “free to a good home” around their necks had I ended up driving alone with them.
So far, Grace has had no more episodes…though her allergies are acting up. All in all, I’m glad to be in the mountains. I’m glad the kids got to see and quasi-swim in the river. Maybe we can go again some time when things are a little calmer in our lives. As for now, we are enjoying cooler temps and lower humidity. 31 more days until we see Jerry again!!!
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