Well, That Was (almost) Fun!

My Mom recently took pity on us that we haven't done anything exciting as a family lately in a long time due to $$, my husband's long hours, and my disability. She offered to pay for Hubs to take Padawan to a local Monster Truck event at the end of September.

Now, there are two words that will motivate me to push my physical limitations- even if I have to pay for it the next few days. The first one is BEACH. The second one is MONSTER TRUCKS.
(Fishing comes in a close third- but I'm not that obsessed about it). I'm not a sports fan, but something about watching grown men play with their big expensive toys to the point that they usually break them excites me.

The day of the event, I made sure I ate right/stayed off of the computer/didn't bump my head or strain my neck in anyway/etc. Time came to leave for the race track and all systems were still go! WooHoo! I was going to get to watch me some Monster Trucks!

Since different symptoms affect my ability in different degrees, my Chiropractor came up with a system to simplify how I explain how good or bad I am feeling. We use a scale of  1-10; 10 being the worst. Its rather objective. But if I am feeling functional I don't rate myself over a 5. A two is almost normal, but I know I've felt better. I haven't made it down to a 1 or a 0 yet- unless you count the moment I open my eyes some mornings before I get out of bed.  On this day I was holding steady at a 3.5 which is leave-the-house-able because it still give me room to go up to a 5 or 6 before coming back home. Sounds weird- I know- but it works for me.

Hubs and I ate before we left the house, but since it was a special outing, we stopped to get Padawan some spicy chicken nuggets and fries from our local Wendy's. (His choice).

We got to the track about an hour and a half before the event was supposed to start. We paid for parking. Parked in the Handicapped space 20 feet or so from the gate. I had my cane- disguised as a mono-pod for my camera. Life was good!

Two steps into the gate, we hear someone call out. "Hey, Yak!" (That was my husband's nickname at his previous job). Padawan and I looked at each other and knew from experience that this could take a while because Hubs was blessed with the gift of gab. So the two of us continued on and picked out some seats..a few stairs down..next the aisle..close to a bathroom. That way I would not have far to walk in case nature called. Then we joked about how everywhere we go, we run into someone my husband knows.

While we were waiting on my husband to find us, Padawan was acting tired. (He had been up since 4 am) So he stretched out on the concrete slab that we were sitting on to try to take a nap. Husband finally found us, and I mentioned that all these other people were smart enough to bring cushions and blankets to sit on. He remembered that he happened to have a comforter in the car, so he went to get if for us.

He got back with our new cushion. Padawan got all comfy. I took a couple of pictures of the trucks. Then Padawan sat up and said that he was feeling sick at his stomach and wanted to go home. WHAT!?!

Surely he was kidding. He kept insisting that he was going to be sick, so my husband took him out to the car to see if he would start feeling better and change his mind. I stayed to save our seats until I knew the verdict.

A few minutes later my husband called me to let me know that my poor child was puking in the parking lot. My husband, knowing how rare it is that I do anything fun and how much I LOVE Monster Trucks, offered to call my Mom to see if she would come get Padawan, and suggested that he would stay with me so I could watch the show. I admit that I briefly thought about it. I quickly came to the conclusion that as much as I LOVE Monster Trucks there was no way I could sit there while my sick child was elsewhere being taken care of someone besides me. (Mom guilt)  So we swapped places..I hurried out to the car while hubs came back to pack up the cooler and the blanket.

By this time Padawan had been sick in several spots around the car. Poor fellow. So, after hubby got back with our stuff, he took off to find someone or something to clean up the mess. I told him to also ask if there was any way we could get a refund or a rain check since we had only been inside the gate less than 20 minutes before all of this happened. You know- extenuating circumstances.

Although the sign at the track clearly says that they don't give refunds, the folks in the office were gracious enough to give us free passes for one event in the future. Well, they aren't really passes- its just an regular everyday envelope that someone wrote on that says we can get in free for a race in the upcoming season..with a signature..and a phone number.

I spent the next two days taking care of my sick boy. It must have been food poisioning.

Stupid Chicken Nuggets!!!