Sunday, July 4, 2010

Richie Sambora

I forgot to include in my Top 10 UNFORGETTABLE:

We now know what Richie Sambora does when he's not touring with Bon Jovi... he drives a tour bus in Italy. (I know that was him!!!)

Jetlag

What's jetlag???

I woke up Monday in Rome at 6 am (their time), rode a bus to the Rome airport, had my carry-on searched and was frisked, boarded the jet, sat in the middle seat of the middle row in the row directly in front of the bathrooms/attendant service area (no leaning back for us!), endured that for 10 hours, landed in Chicago to experience Customs and another security check (set off the alarm with the belt I forgot I was wearing), ran to our gate, flew to KCI, retrieved our luggage, shuttled back to the Expedition, and drove home. I then showered and got myself to the hospital about 11 pm (our time).

Of course, you don't sleep in hospitals. So after only sleeping a couple of hours on the Rome-Chicago flight and a couple of hours in the chair next to Jake's hospital bed, Jake and I both made it home about noon on Tuesday.

Tuesday afternoon, Jake and I both took a three hour nap, but that's been about it. He wakes up every couple of hours to go to the potty or just to moan pitifully "my tummy hurts!" Eric took pity on me last night (Saturday) and let me sleep upstairs while he took Jake patrol.

(Another fun aspect of the appendectomy is the flushing of wound. I get to flush a saline solution into the wound openings. Apparently this is a chilly experience and Jake hates it.)

So... back to the original topic... what is jetlag? I'm still not sure. I feel like I did after I had the babies. I can't think clearly, I can't keep my mind on what I'm doing, and my eyelids droop... a lot. Sleep is a valued commodity and I can't get enough of it.

Perhaps b/c of an appendectomy and my mommy duties, I didn't experience a true sense of jetlag??? Maybe I've been experiencing it for the last 17 years :P

Not National Lampoon's European Vacation, But Darn Close

Ahhh... back from the European vacation! A few stressful situations were certainly overshadowed by having a great time seeing the sites and enjoying the traveling!

Of course, having your younger son undergo an appendectomy while you are 7,000+ miles away can be a little stressful on your psyche, but I knew he was in good hands and I just gave it over to God's control. That helped to make the last couple of days enjoyable!

My top 10 list of forgettable things:

10. traveling by bus
9. European electricity
8. European showers
7. breakfasts of hard rolls and cereal with warm milk
6. Pasta... served at every dinner (and I love pasta, but there is overkill)
5. the shoving Parisians (I was thankful for having previously played a contact sport!)
4. trying to sleep in the non-AC hotels
3. being frisked in the Rome airport
2. the stench of urine in the Paris subway stations
and...
1. European women's bathroom "facilities" or what we in the USA call a hole in the ground (we only experienced that one time... but still FORGETTABLE)

My top ten list of unforgettable:
10. Watching the Eiffel Tower's lights come on while standing below the Tower
9. being overwhelmed by the history of the Colosseum and the Ruins
8. watching my son experience the Mediterranean Sea... the waves, the salt water, the beaches
7. the Tuscany countryside
6. Leather :)
5. Gelato :)
4. having these experiences with my son and one of my oldest friends
3. photographing these experiences
2. Monaco (wow!)
1. this new feeling of knowing I've been to a part of the world where history is so much more than the BRIEF history of our country, appreciating that history/culture and yet appreciating even more, my rights and freedoms as an American citizen. (Happy Birthday #234 USA!)