Hollidazzilicious

Today was one of those awful days that the barometer was quite high and must have been falling quite quickly. Both Alex and I had headaches painful enough that they were messing a bit with our minds. In church today, pastor was giving a very good sermon, but it was so convoluted to my headache polluted mind, I could barely keep up. When we then were asked to supply interactive responses to what we had learned, I felt like an idiot....it did not even seem like he had been speaking English! But I guess he had been, because the rest of the congregation was able to provide each response quickly and enthusiastically.Oh well, I will have to listen online in a few days. While I am very sad for my son to be forced to endure such agony, it takes a bit of the edge off (I think for both of us) to have someone actually understand the magnitude of the misery. When I ask Alex if he will run my head over with the truck to relieve the pain, he knows exactly the position I am in, and likewise, I can empathize with him.

While I wasted my day on the couch with my eyes closed, under the umbrella of mercy (see, I was able to listen a little bit at church!), the girls were at Grandma's house baking Christmas cookies. Daddy took Michael to his hockey game. Alex was visiting his girlfriend. My mom kept us informed throughout the day of the goings on with the Miami cousins in case my headache went away and we could meet them somewhere. In a surprise move, I motivated myself with mind power off of the couch, took my remaining children into the truck, picked up Grandma Z and the girls, and met everyone downtown (!!!!!!!!!) for the Hollidazzle parade.

We found parking in a ramp that had obviously been built before SUV's came around. My truck brushed the clearance sign as we pulled in, but there were too many cars behind me in the crowded downtown streets for me to back up and get out. We held our breaths and drove about 7 MPH, careful not to hit any bumps along the way that would cause us to "jump" a bit into the ceiling. We managed to find a spot, and were on our way to meet everyone at their skyway seats. My mom kept us informed via cell phone, and did her best giving me directions to where they were. Unfortunately for me and the rest of my crew, my brain, even under normal circumstances, seems to freeze over when I am faced with being downtown and trying to find my way around. It is like a weird panic attack felt only in my brain (the same thing happens if someone talks to me about computers or chemistry). Once outside, we ended up walking the wrong way, but my brother thankfully had spotted us from their skyway perch, and ran down to rescue and lead us safely inside. On the up-side, I think that our little lost jaunt in the cold evening air helped my headache quite a bit, and allowed me to enjoy the last part of my Sunday.

The kids were very excited to be with their cousins again, and to watch the parade. From the giant Cub Foods shopping cart, to nursery rhymes in lights, with Santa and his reindeer at the very end, we all happily and comfortably watched through the windows of the skyway. Thomas cheered as he sat at the window watching the pretty lights go by. Laura seemed more interested in the snacks that Grandma had smartly brought along, but at least she was being well behaved. We all agreed it was even better than last year. I think Grandma Z was happy to finally see what the Hollidazzle parade was all about, and she definitely enjoyed seeing the Miami family again. Jonny & I hope to view it from outside next year to experience the sounds with the sights....as long as it is warm enough!