Better Hurry, Mommy, You'll Be Late

This weekend we "vacationed" (by this I mean: we drove to see family and went to the zoo) in fabulous downtown Des Moines, Iowa.  I didn't see any flood waters, but I heard from my Cedar Rapids-based brother-in-law that a) flood "water" is a term that should be used loosely, as there is a lot in the water besides water and b) flood water is powerful enough to move just about anything in its way.  It was depressing to hear of how much had been lost in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, cities I've lived and worked in. 

On the upside, my in-laws are safe and still in their house, which is more than a lot of folks up there can say. (And in Iowa, they are "folks," trust me.)  Also, we had a wonderful time.  We stayed in a hotel, which made the little angel delirious with happiness, we went to the zoo, we grilled out and the little angel and her five-year-old cousin A. immersed themselves in their cousin M's American Girl collection, which I have to say is very impressive.  Those dolls had crutches, roller skates, and tap shoes with real taps on them. It was all I could do to keep from seizing them myself.  I got to see three of my nine in-law families, including my MIL and FIL.  We had to skip traveling to see them at Thanksgiving last year due to finances, so it was really important we get to see them this weekend.

This morning, of course, the little angel woke up, realized it was a school day, and started having a fit.  I told her we were running late (as usual) but today, I just really didn't care.  She randomly changed her tune.

"You'd better hurry, Mommy," she said.  "Otherwise your work teacher will be mad at you."

GOOD POINT.

---------------
Talking about how to spot stroke and heart attack today at BlogHer.