Mother-Daughter Weekend

My daughter and I joined another mother-daughter pair for a fun weekend. We stayed at a resort about 65 miles from home. Because my daughter is 10 1/2, I challenged her to pack her own gear for the trip. (I know, but I like to live dangerously!)  Shortly before we needed to leave on Saturday morning, I noticed she was wearing flip-flops. "It's 38 degrees outside. Put some shoes on," I told her. She stomped back to her bedroom to exchange her shoes. Is it just me or is this one of those common sense kind of things?

We loaded the car and then drove to my friend's house to pick up the other half of our foursome. Then we headed to a craft fair. I go to this craft fair every year even though it is crowded beyond all belief. You just never know when you might stumble upon some amazing Christmas gift that you couldn't have gotten anywhere else. As we walked towards the building, a chilly gust of wind slapped me in the side of the head. "Hey, where's your jacket?" I asked my daughter.

"Oh, I didn't bring one." She shrugged like this was a dumb question. Seriously? I was scared to ask her if she was wearing underwear.

I did pick up a couple of little gifts at the craft fair, so it was worth the extra trouble to find parking and plow through the massive crowd.  Then we headed out of town.

I had it in my head that I wanted to eat lunch at a particular pizza joint that offers a build-your-own-pizza option that include vegan cheese and vegan sausage. So, I was determined to go and my friend was willing, too.  Little did I know, we would stand in the tiny waiting area for a solid 55 minutes before getting a table. We were weak from hunger by the time we were finally seated. My pizza was pretty good - maybe a little overcooked. Vegan cheese doesn't melt as quickly as non-vegan cheese, so maybe they felt the need to scorch the pizza a bit. I was so hungry I would have eaten the table itself. My friend said her pizza was good. My kid ordered a grilled cheese from the kids' menu and ate two bites of it. I am not even exaggerating - she took one bite out of each half. Ah, that's money well spent, eh?

After lunch, we did a bit of shopping and picked up some stuff to have for dinner. The girls mostly chose to stay in the car. What was weird was that they didn't interact with each other all that much. They had headphones on. They are friends, though. Kids these days, I tell ya. We stopped at a candy store. I had to tease my friend because she bought those black licorice all-sorts thingies. Blech! I bought some blow-pops, which are much healthier, don't you think?

After our shopping excursion, we spent a quiet afternoon hanging out in our suite, watching TV. After dinner, my kid and I went swimming.  My friend claims not to own a swimsuit, so one of these days I might just have to dig around in her dresser drawers just to confirm. I think she's bluffing.

When I got to the pool and swam across, I realized I was winded. I don't claim to be any sort of athlete, but I log several hours a week on the elliptical at the gym (plus yoga classes) so splashing across the pool should not wear me out, in theory. I realized I was getting sick. Crud. I wasn't surprised, because just about everyone I know has been sick lately.

We spent the rest of the evening hanging out, watching TV, and eating things we wouldn't ordinarily eat.  We'd all gotten up early, so we didn't stay up too late. My daughter and I shared a bed and she didn't kick me as much as usual. Or maybe the margaritas I drank before bedtime made me notice it less?  The next morning, we cuddled in bed for a while, which we don't get to do very often. Isn't amazing how one little person makes your heart explode and also makes your head explode sometimes?

We went to the resort's continental breakfast on Sunday morning (I had brought along a protein bar and mandarin oranges from home) and then checked out of the resort. I was feeling cruddier by the second. In fact, I'm home sick now. I had every intention of making it through the work day but my lungs had other ideas.

Anyway, the weekend was a lot of fun and I'm hopeful we can do it again next year. Next Saturday, the kid and I are heading to Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. I'm hopeful that my lungs will be back in working order by then.

What kind of mother lets her child buy candy cigarettes?!  Oh, wait . . .

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