More from Ohio

Monday
In the morning, we went on some errands and got some really delicious peppermint mocha coffee from Starbucks. Those Sullivan boys just crack me up. When we got in the car, Patrick asked me if I liked some song that sounded like Rambling Rose. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about and said I didn’t know. He asked, “You mean you don’t like Rambling Rose?” “I don’t know, Patrick. I have to see.” When Helen got in the car, both boys expressed their wish for that song. Helen told them they could hear it one time. She pops in the CD and out of the speakers ours a rather jolly Irish drinking song. The boys were singing along. It cracked me up! Patrick gets very shy about singing when he notices that people are watching him. But seeing a 4 and 5 year olds singing Irish drinking songs was a sight to see. Throughout the car ride, Joe will almost always enlighten us about the animal kingdom. The facts that he shares are I am sure completely true. I can’t tell you what kinds of snakes live in Burma, but Joe can. He is can also spell crocodile. Very gifted. Patrick is also one to share information. And they both have a sharp wit, which they get from their folks. Mikey impressed me with his recorder playing. Patrick had a recorder that he had been using as a weapon and when Mikey picked it up, he blew into it like a master of the instrument. Very talented. Thanks to the snowfall from days earlier, Joe and I were able to play outside in the snow. Though the snow wasn’t very snowman worthy or even snowball worthy, we were able to make snow angels. I took some video that I am hoping to post. In the evening, Helen and Mike went on a date while I baked pizza and hung out with the kids. It was a nice and mellow evening. They have one of those sectional couches in their den, which is super comfortable and easy to snooze on.

Tuesday
I woke up feeling icky. I had a cold/cough/achy/hot-cold/throat thingy. That didn’t stop Helen and I from shopping. Patrick and Joe went with Mike to the Philadelphia Zoo. We went to Target (I had a certificate and there isn’t one in Vermont) where I bought two shirts and pants. I was feeling pretty poopy, so I napped when we came back. We went out in the evening to Mike’s brother’s pub/restaurant in their old neighborhood of Lakewood. They have THE BEST cheesy potato wedge thingys! (I am sure I wrote about them when I drove out to Vermont.) We met up with Mary (whom I have met a few times) and Laura. We had a really great time. They are really nice people. I think I fell asleep about two seconds after my head hit the pillow. Though the start of sleep was good, I think I woke up about every 30 minutes coughing and sneezing.

Wednesday
Still felt like crap. The throat was feeling worse. I was kind of hoping that my plane would be delayed so I could stay another day and sleep. That was not the case. Joe, Patrick and I spent the morning playing and then it was time for me to go to the airport. When Helen dropped me off, I checked in my bags and waited in a very long line to get through security. When I was passing through the security screeners, they stopped on one of my carry on bags. As soon as I realized that they were eyeing my bag, I knew exactly what they were looking for. Years ago, I got a pocket knife from working on America’s Funniest Home Videos. It is a great knife. I had forgotten to put it in the suitcase. The guard pulled it out (after warning me, of course, to not touch anything until he said so – no duh!) and told me I could either throw it away or mail it back. Now I ask you, why would I throw something like that away? That’s just stupid. I was feeling really, really crappy. I asked about mailing it back and he told me where I could go. It would be out back at the beginning. I asked if I would have to go through the really, really long line again. When he told me I would, I said in my best Joe voice, “Are you kidding me?” I couldn’t believe that I would have to start in that line all over again. I began to cry because I was so tired and feeling like crap. I explained to the guard that I was sick. Thankfully, he told me I could go through the first class line, which was shorter. So I went out and put my pocket knife in a bag with $7 and went through the shorter line. I still had to get screened again, but this time I passed. I sat around the Cleveland airport for about 45 minutes before boarding. Thankfully, the plane ride was short and uneventful to Newark. When I got to Newark, it took me a bit to find the terminal I was suppose to go to. But I had about two hours before the flight. I tried to sleep, but between the throat hurting and the constant cough, I didn’t get any rest. Finally, we were able to load the plane. I tucked myself into my seat and tried to sleep again. Nothing doing. Cough, cough, cough. Again, I was glad there was short plane ride. I arrived into Burlington at about 10:30pm. I was so glad to not be on a plane. Though I didn’t have a sound night sleep, I did sleep better than had the night before.