The Spring Break Roadtrip

I've been kind of quiet online because Genius Kid and I did a roadtrip down to honorary Godmother's place in Nashville. Frankly for me, it was an experiment in pain management after the disastrous trip to Tampa last year where I could barely walk by the time we got home.

[Tip: A naproxen (Aleve) and acetaminophen (Tylenol) double-header does wonders! But please check with your doctor before combining any drugs.]

Heck, GK and I made it through the trip without any too much bickering. We both swore we'd behave. We bonded over Netflix.

Why did we spend our time watching Netflix while being in a beautiful, vibrant city?

We arrived late Wednesday afternoon after driving through rain the entire seven hours. While GK slept in on Thursday, I went to the local Panera to write. By Thursday evening, I wasn't feeling well. Chalking it up to travel fatigue, I went to bed after we got home from dinner.

By Friday afternoon, I was running a fever. Luckily, they had a marvelous thing called The Little Clinic nearby. The staff had me registered, tested, and checked in less time than I've spent in other doctors' waiting rooms. I actually had to wait longer for my prescriptions to be filled at the Kroger pharmacy. But once I had my antibiotics, I felt much better.

GK decided he needed the down time anyway. He's been carrying a full load of welding classes in addition to his high school classes.

On Saturday, GM to me to a lovely little Greek place for lunch. OMG! So good! Then we went to their local Barnes & Noble, so she could prove to me they still actually *gasp* sold books!

The B&N still had a music and video section, a large café, and a toy section, but 75% of the store carried actual BOOKS! I bought my first paper books since 2016: a couple of Valdemar anthologies that I'd been meaning to buy that have short stories by my friend Angela Penrose, the last book of Gail Carriger's Finishing School series Manners & Mutiny (I was reading Book 3 Waistcoats & Weaponry on the drive down), and a Batman v Superman edition Wonder Woman doll (it had allegedly sold out shortly before the movie came out, and scalpers were asking outrageous amounts for it). We didn't spot Ricky Skaggs, a country music star who frequents that particular store, but all-in-all a good shopping trip.

We had brunch before hitting the road on Sunday morning. That's when GK informed me he needed a red shirt for a group presentation at school. Yes, on Easter Sunday, my son informs me he needs a particular item of clothing for his first period class--in less than twenty-four hours while we're seven hours from home.

A reminder that he's not quite the adult he usually acts like.

And yes, we did find a store open with a red shirt. No, I did not get on his case that maybe if he wore a color other than black we could have avoided the stress.

But today, it's back to work! With donuts! Because Mom got long johns while in the store with red shirts.