Tornadoes at the airport

My husband took a trip to Dallas this weekend--long awaited, and very exciting for him, as he is a JFK assassination buff. While he was gone, I had 2 whole precious days alone with our daughter--he watches her when I'm working, so he gets lots of time alone with her. She and I had a delightful time, despite a quick trip to Riley's ER.
Kevin's flight was expected just before 7, and as we had never been parted for so long, I took Grace to the airport to meet him, though he had parked his car there. On the way I heard news on the radio that tornadoes were barreling towards the southwest quadrant of the city, including the airport! I decided to get to the airport and take Grace inside, though she had fallen asleep in the car. I figured we'd be safer indoors than in the garage. Once we got inside, they were telling everyone to get to the lower level as soon as possible, as the tornado was close at hand. We all crammed around the baggage claim carousels, sitting on the floor, occasionally being reminded to keep away from the windows in case of flying glass. Of course, nothing happened, except that it got very hot and Grace awake and wanted to get into everyone's luggage! I did see my hairdresser Kimberly and Rob Corddry from the Daily Show--I got his autograph for Kevin. He seemed very friendly and normal, and his female companion seemed to enjoy the attention she was getting by proxy.
Meanwhile, Kevin's flight had been diverted to Louisville, a veritable hole-in-the-wall airport with nary a vending machine, but with a soon-to-be-opened "CNBC Store". Yeah--that's good mall planning. After much hemming and hawing, they cancelled the flight to Indy so that he had the choice of waiting till morning to fly or renting a car and driving home--hotel or rental car at his expense. Having never been away from us that long, he decided to drive, at first planning to share the car with the wife of a law school compatriot, but then ending up alone. I worried about him driving a longish distance alone late at night in tornado weather after a few bad nights of sleep, but he made it back safely, and there was much rejoicing!
Today when I took the rental car to the airport, they tried to charge us an additional $475--a one-way fee of $300, plus some other made-up stuff. I was outraged, but they said I'd have to take it up with the Louisville office. Which I did--they were also astounded, and refunded the money immediately. I guess they don't have a unified system, but I won't be likely to give them my business again soon. Then I couldn't find our car in the parking lot--it seemed like a fitting end to have it stolen! I was just looking in the wrong area. Silly me!

hard lessons of parenting

We took our daughter to see a speech pathologist the other day--finally someone who knows exactly what to do!! She gave us specific instructions on how to go about training Grace to eat. And finally we're off bottles!!! No more nipples to clean! No more frustrating attempts to get her to take the bottle! There are new frustrations ahead--she doesn't like the water bottle we're supposed to give her after bites of pretzel. She LOVES to feed Mommy corn puffs!
We almost bought a house this week. We found a great old house (1865) in a small town closer to my in-laws. We thought about it and put down our earnest money and started to get our house ready for selling. As we cleaned and packed we realized what a great situation we have here--a big yard on a quiet sreet in the best school district in Indy. The house itself is small, but we're not using the space as best as we can. So we decided to cancel and stay here. It was a difficult decision, but we realized that we had been putting our own desires above what would be best for Grace. It was an expensive lesson, in money, time, and hope, but we feel we made the best choice.
This morning, Grace's stomach tube (her "button") area looked infected, so I called the surgeon on call, and he said she needed the pustule drained, so after she wakes from her nap I'll take her down to Riley AGAIN. My hubby is in Dallas, feeling guilty about being away when Grace is having trouble. He keeps saying I'd also feel guilty, but I don't want him to ruin his trip--he waited a long time for his 2-day break from being a Daddy--the last time he was scheduled to go, Grace went into the hospital. This is very minor--should be in and out, depending on the wait. I'm not happy about what is likely to cause Grace some pain, but I know she'll feel better--she's been really fussy, and woke several times last night.

My husband looks like Rupert!

I swear--he does! Only cuter. And smarter! He keeps complaining that his long hair makes him look like a hippie, but he can't find a time to get his hair cut when he doesn't have a crushing headache.
Speaking of Rupert, I know I'm not unusual in thinking him a nice guy, but let me just say that I'm glad he won the popularity contest. It gives me hope that there are still more nice guys out there for my daughter. She's only 15--months, that is-- but I am always hoping for her happiness. She's a real sweetheart with sensory integration dysfunction.We struggle with issues like eating and sleeping which seem to come naturally to other babies--a very frustrating problem. We have hopes that occupational therapy will help eventually! We go through times of self-pity, but were recently reminded forcefully of how lucky we are when friends lost their premature son after sitting by his side for 2 weeks, weighing his life in the balance. Our daughter's life isn't threatened by her condition, and she has a good chance of being fairly normal, if there is such a thing! It's all about perspective.
I heard something on NPR today about Sudanese refugee women going into Chad, having lost their sons, husbands and fathers to both government and rebel attacks and having been raped in those same attacks. I guess I shouldn't be so unhappy about our credit card debt and the water heater not working. At least I haven't been raped and my family murdered! When my husband and daughter had a near miss on the way to a family concert last week, it really shook me up--what would I do without them???? Occasionally, when I'm frustrated, I recall my single life with nostalgic longing, but when it comes right down to it, my life before I married was hollow and depressing.