Oops! I did not mean to be gone from here for a full week. And what a week it was! Such. a. week.
But before I get into that, I wanted to thank everyone for the kind words on my last post. My husband and I aren’t doing great right now, and I’m really hoping our time together in Hawaii allows us to reconnect in a positive way, because honestly, I’m kind of struggling.
Now back to this past week. As I mentioned before our cat Serval had some tummy trouble during our St. Louis trip that my in-laws had to deal with right before my husband got home. He came home and dealt with it some more, but it seemed to clear up. And then we all got home late on Sunday, and by Tuesday it was clear we were dealing with more cat tummy trouble. It ramped up until there was several days in a row that required extensive cleaning up of very foul smelling and disgusting messes.
On Thursday I was able to make an urgent care vet appointment for the following morning. I took him in and they ran some tests and $1200 later they determined didn’t have parasites, an obstruction or something else more serious, and sent us home with anti-diarrhea and antacid medicines, which he had also gotten via IV that day.
Saturday morning I woke up to the worst mess of all and after sobbing in a heap on the floor, I was able to concede that one of us had to stay home for a few more days because we couldn’t ask anyone to deal with this shit (literally). Luckily, we were able to change my flight to Tuesday without incurring any fees (we actually got a $65 credit!) and while I was really sad to miss part of our Hawaii trip, I knew it was the right thing to do.
And it really was. Saturday was a packed day for me and I got pretty much nothing done on Friday because of the vet visit. I was actually feeling really panicked on Friday night because I knew there was no way I could see Barbie with a friend in the morning and go to a concert that night with my dad, and still have everything ready for our 9am flight the following morning. Getting the extra 48 hours allowed me to enjoy Saturday (the movie was great and the concert was amazing), and gave me some much needed alone time at the house. And honestly, I wasn’t sad to miss Sunday at all because it was just a “wait in line at the car rental spot” and “get groceries for the kids” and “unpack and get settled day,” which I’ve already done with them a bunch this summer. I was happy to hand that off to my husband for once (he never does those things, he shows up after I’ve already done them). I was a little sad to miss today, but they just went to the pool, which is definitely fun, but I’ve also done that with them a bunch this summer so I’m fine to have missed it.
Instead of being there for those things I got to have the house to myself for a blissful 48 hours. I can’t remember the last time that happened, and it’s never happened when I didn’t have to work. I read 300 pages of my book (and finished it! I’m so happy because I started it before the last trip and didn’t want to travel with a giant library book, so I was bummed to have to wait another week to get it done) and binge watched Silo on AppleTV+ (I’ll be finishing it tonight).
I also picked up the house, found the spots that were still smelling and cleaned those (it was SO HARD to find them all!), finished a bunch of laundry, took books back to the library, cleaned (like actually cleaned) the cat boxes, wrote new cat feeding + medicine directions, founds ways to protect some of the furniture in case of another episode with the cat, emptied all the trash cans, took the bearded dragon out for his “bath,” and more! I even got to hang out with my friend yesterday, and I haven’t seen her all summer.
It really was the best way to spend 48 hours at home that you’re supposed to be spending in Hawaii, but had to miss because of literal shit. I’m trying hard to think of it as a reason and opportunity to better appreciate the days that I’m there. In the end I’ll have only missed today, because I gain hours tomorrow and land at noon, and my family is going to pick me up and take me straight to a snorkeling spot. All I’m missing is breakfast and packing food for lunch (and probably some fights about screen time – no thank you!) I just hope my flight is on time!
Oh and after 48 hours of nothing, Serval did finally go to the bathroom in his box. Twice! I even remember to get the requested stool sample and brought it into the vet today. I’m so glad I was here to make sure he’s okay, so I can worry less about how he’s doing while we’re gone.
And now to finish those cat feeding instructions, which I mentioned above but are not, in fact, done.
In my experience car rentals in Hawaii are a total shit show and it’s always extremely hot at the airport so I would miss a day or two if a vacation if it meant I didn’t have to do that part of the trip. My kids and husband are always super grumpy whenever we arrive anywhere after a flight, no matter how long the flight was or what time of day it is. I can safely say the worst days of my marriage have been the first days of Hawaii trips. So I feel like weirdly this is a win win for you?
Blergh on cat shit. Yet another reason we didn’t replace our animal after he died a few years ago. I just don’t have the bandwidth to deal with taking care of anything else. Ha! But your 48 hours alone sound pretty damn awesome. Glad you were able to see the silver lining in it all! Fingers crossed it’s a good reconnecting week for you and DH as well once you get there.
Hope the home alone time helped with everything and that you get to reconnect and recharge in HA. Best wishes to all of you.
Sounds like a great decision to stay. Hope your trip is amazing!
Just one word- you are a super star. To get all that done, my hat’s off to you!
Have a wonderful time in HI!!!