Dis(ney)appointed ...

Funny how things work out, and always for good, even when we can't see the good at the time. Makes me wonder ... was this for our protection ... for something better to come ... for a little family time now and more family time later? Hard to say. All I know, is that letting Olivia play hooky from school this year has ended up coming back to haunt me both times!!


I let her skip 1/2 day on the day of the Knox County track event because I knew those not at the event would not be doing anything too academic. So, I scheduled time for us to have lunch, go to the Cupcakery for dessert, and then off to get her haircut in Maynardville -- yes, Maynardville, but that's another story. The plan was unfolding perfectly until I locked my keys in my car when we made a quick stop at the paper store on our way to get cupcakes after lunch. Randy had to come rescue us all the way from Maryville. Not good, but we rewarded him with a red velvet cupcake - we killed our waiting time by walking there and back, yes, on Kingston Pike. His one comment was, "This is what you get for skippin' school." Very funny.


Anyway, with haircut rescheduled for a little later, we start the drive to Maynardville and were running ahead of our new schedule. Get to the last leg of the trip and I make a wrong turn - the Garmin wasn't on; I was using my spiritual gift of navigation. So, now we're running late to the appointment. Once there, I whisk Olivia in and run back to the car to grab my checkbook - plastic not accepted here - and to get a Food Chopper our stylist had ordered on our last visit. I'm apologizing profusely for our crazy afternoon and start to write my check while O's enjoying her shampoo. Yep, you guessed it, there are NO CHECKS in my checkbook. Gracious! I ask Laura if she'll trade a Food Chopper for a haircut. She agrees. Whew! And, yes, I had brought her a cupcake, too. Afterward, on the way to pick up Hudson from Katherine's, I miss the exit for Chapman Highway and end up going toward our house instead. Had to alter plans once again.

Later that night, we saw Olivia's teacher at the ball field. I shared our story with her, and she said, "That's what you get for skippin' school!" Dejavu? Too bad I was all out of cupcakes.

SOOOOOOOO ... we've had this trip to Disney planned for months. It was originally scheduled to take place during Spring Break, but that foiled with the house flood. You'll have to go back to eariler posts to read up on all of that fun. This trip required that Olivia miss the last day and a half of school as we left on Wednesday night after Randy got off from work. Hudson has been dealing with a little cough since around the 23rd-ish of April ... no fever, no other symptoms, just an annoying allergy cough. Last week, Randy fell ill and it is thought that he had walking pneumonia. Great. Hudson was definitely exposed to this even though we tried to keep everyone apart as much as possible. We even put H on an antibiotic just in case, and he was prescribed a steroid to make the cough finally disappear. He had been seen by his doctor several times over the last couple of weeks, so this was the final option - and one that usually works.

Driving down I-75 Wednesday night, Randy quickly became concerned that H's cough sounded bad ... deep, frequent, more than an allergy. But, still no other symptoms. We keep driving. We make it to Cordele, GA, and find a hotel for the night; we load Hudson up on his medications and do a breathing treatment. He coughs a lot. A whole lot. Randy didn't sleep hardly at all, and I think H finally got about 4 hours worth. Randy is more concerned. I'm trying to stay optimistic. People go to Disney all the time with much more serious health issues, right?


We call the doctor's office, and they want to see H ... tomorrow. "Tomorrow" is our first day at the parks! It's breakfast at the Castle, parades, clear balloons with Mickey ears inside and rides on Pirates of the Caribbean and Small World. It's not a drive back to Knoxville. We decide to visit a walk-in clinic instead. Sweet doctor there said H's lungs sounded clear and that we were doing all we could do.


Tough decision.
Kids, crying in the back seat.
Adults, weighing out pros and cons.
Me, being supportive of whatever Randy decides (this was hard, thanks A.T. for help!).
Randy, torn between his head and his heart.


Heart wins. We keep driving south.


Finally check-in at our Disney resort around 5:30 p.m. Hudson is coughing so much that he can't finish a sentence. We unpack the car; I unpack all the luggage and set up our room. Randy takes the kids to the hotel playground ... H's cough makes all the other parents gather their kids and leave. Great. We go to Downtown Disney (in the rain) to visit the Lego store and to grab some dinner. Same thing happens at the Lego place ... parents looking at us like we're insane and steering their children away from us.


Still, hoping for improvement, we do medications and breathing treatments ... even hook up the humidifier we brought from home. Everyone is in bed. Olivia goes to sleep. Hudson proceeds to cough ... a lot. Me, awake. Randy, awake. After two+ hours of incessent coughing, I give in to reason ...


"I'm done making lemonade," I announce in the dark.
"What?" Randy asks, sure that I'm talking in my sleep.
"I'm done making lemonade," I say very confidently.
"I have no idea what you mean," says sweet husband.
"I'm done making lemonade out of these lemons. I vote that we go home."
"I couln't agree more"

Decision made.
Adults in harmonious agreement
Kids bawling.
Adults reassuring the sick little brother that this isn't his fault. Lots of hugs.
Adults comforting the healthy big sister that she is special and that this is for the best. Lots of hugs.


Morning dawns and kids are happy. After some calls to the front desk and to the Disney travel people, we rebooked for later in the summer. I repack all of our belongings, and we head north on I-75, arriving in Knoxville at 11 p.m. The doctor's office opens for us on Saturday, and H's cough is due to severe reflux - treatable with a short-term liquid diet and long-term doses of Zantac.

Today is Sunday. H's cough is still present, but much more infrequent. Breakfast at the Castle reservations are secured for trip #2. We have the next few days with little plans since we weren't expecting to be here ... came home to a clean house, clean sheets, and very little laundry. Unpacking seemed almost hilarious -- how many times can I fold/hang these same clothes this week?


I called Olivia's teacher today ... mainly to see when she's scheduled softball camp for this summer as I thought it was this week ... but also to hear her laugh. And she did. And she said, "That's what you get for skippin' school!" Thanks, Wendy.