A weekend without kids? Awesome!
Oh but wait – you’re sick. So sick, in fact, that you don’t even see outside of the hotel room for more than 24 hours upon arrival. You have a rising fever and your husband makes a couple trips to the pharmacy, late at night mind you, to buy a humidifier because you can’t breathe.
Day 2, you’re feeling a little better. No longer do you have that nasty fever and are feeling like you might want to be part of the world today – and be young and married and alone in a hotel room (WOOT!) so we get some continental breakfast, which is divine, and then head back to the room where I promptly fall on the bed and fall asleep for an hour.
Wake up, feel so much better – make a trip to the pharmacy for some new over the counter concoction to make the maddness stop. Back to the room. Feeling frisky? Why, maybe. Oh wait! We forgot the birth control. Another trip to the pharmacy. I fall asleep.
Lets get massages!! That’ll help! Massages are wonderful and relaxing, in fact apparently they are so relaxing that my body thinks “HEY! It’s about that time, and since we’re just hanging out, why not now?”
Sweet.
Lets venture out and get some lunch, it’s only 3:30 pm. I’m starving. We find this gem of a restaurant that sells only sustainable farmed food. Aaron orders an Oyster Shooter – there is raw egg in it. I immediately regret our dining decision. We are the only patrons in this restaurant and after ordering my Butternut Squash soup and eating half of it – I’m still starving. Aaron orders a salad and he gets an olive plate with some greens spread across it. We decide to buy hotdogs and eat them in one bite as soon as we leave this place.
Which never happened. The hotdogs, that is. Still starving. We decide to walk to the American Girl Place store and buy Jessica a surprise for her baby. We map it out – it’s only 5 min away on foot. I’m doing ok – I can do this. I’m coughing up my lungs but I’m braving the chill for the look on her face when she sees the package.
The map forgot to tell us the store closed. Awesome.
We walk across the street in total jaywalking fashion to a coffee shop – I brought my book along, I think if I can sit somewhere and just be for a while I might be able to stay out and among the living. As we walk in to the coffee shop we quickly realize there are people STANDING because it’s so crowded and there’s no where TO sit. We turn around and walk right back out.
I declare that it is high time to get my butt back to the hotel room where I can lay in bed and suffer without all of Chicago bearing witness.
On the way back to the hotel we see a family with an American Girl Place bag – um? Am I hallucinating now too? We stop them and ask them, with tears in our eyes, where did you get that?
Ah – the store hasn’t closed. It’s MOVED. Good to know. You know, for future reference.
Back in the hotel I lay in bed and read for a while – Aaron sits next to me, reading too. He’s suffering just as much as I am – he wants to be part of the lifeblood that is this city this weekend. He deserves it. He asks me if he can go walk around and explore – of course you can, I say – have fun for both of us!
He leaves and I sit here with a red face, inflamed cheeks and sinuses. Uncomfortable in my own skin for the time being with no where to go but here. I self diagnose a sinus infection online and then text Aaron that we need, yet another, trip to the pharmacy for, yet another, medicine.
This time, I’m sure.