It’s Thursday, I’m safely in Corvallis. But instead of having just arrived from Bend, I’ve been here since last. As you may have predicted based on my frantic posts from Wednesday and Thursday, we did not leave anywhere close to 8 pm, or 9 pm, or even 10. It was 11:30 before we finally pulled away. At that point, I was sick as hell with nausea and a massive headache from coughing all day long and running around last-minuting since I got home from work. Ben smartly got us some food before we got on the freeway, and that helped, but I was too tired and slept until we’d cleared the grape vine. As we went along, arrival time predictions got later and later, and finally my dad called and said given the fact that there was a storm on it’s way to the Cascades from Washington we should just drive through Eugene, and he’ll come and visit us in Corvallis when the storm clears.
I was disappointed, but also a little relieved. Since we no longer had anybody depending on us making good time, I could relax and enjoy the drive a little more. Because of rain and possibly icy conditions in the mountains, and because the sun was starting to set, then because it was night, the last leg of the journey from Ashland to Corvallis was the slowest going and the most stressful. Also, by this time Ben was feeling rather sick, so I was the driver even though he has more experience driving wet and possibly icy mountain roads.
We pulled up to the house at about 6 pm, 3 hours after the original predicted arrival time, but only because we didn’t stop in Eugene and have the leisurely lunch we had planned. Ultimately, I guess it’s really good luck that the storm cancelled my plans with my dad. I can’t imagine Ben having to drive that last leg sick, even though it only took us about an hour and a half, it still would have been terrible. He’s sick upstairs in bed as I write this. Hopefully it’s just the stress of traveling and the bad road food. I always feel so awful for him when he’s sick. It doesn’t help that he does basically what he would do if he wasn’t sick, except the whole time he’s slumped slightly over, moaning and sniffling. The fact that he actually stopped playing his Vita game and went upstairs is a kind of terrible sign. He never just gets in bed.
Well, December’s been a shitty month so far, why would it stop being shitty just because we’re on vacation?
It could be worse…
But it could also be better…
Update: Ben is really sick and has been puking all evening. I feel awful for him. But also, since he’s the whole reason I’m in this house to begin with, it’s a little bit awkward me just staring at his family. I honestly don’t think any of them have ever been alone with me without him around.
Aw crap, it’s Dec. 31st and I’m sitting here adding this to all my posts because I said I’d have it here until the end of the year and I didn’t. I suck I know. Still, support Planned Parenthood because they’re amazing and the things they do are awesome.
