Tribute to Alison

Events of February 28th...

• We(Sienna, Ayla and I) loaded up Alison's stuff into the car after a fun and long awaited weekend visit with her and her 6 month old baby Cache, whom I had yet to meet.
  
• We took Sienna to dance.
• We started driving North toward the airport. It was noon.
  
• We drove for 25 minutes at a steady pace.
• We came to a standstill, a traffic jam, a dead stop, an unbelievably non-existent pace, a headache, a beginning to the nightmare and unbelievably long day or should I say ordeal.
• We sat in our warm car as the minutes ticked by.
• The snow flurries started to stick.
• We see cop cars, ambulances and tow trucks driving past us on the shoulder.
  
• Cache started crying.
• We started a movie for Sienna.
• I commented on how I should have gone to the bathroom at the dance studio.
• Ayla ate and spilled many cheerios.
• Alison pulled out her Sudoko book. She tore out a moderate page for me.
• I tried the cell. Network Busy.
• "I really need to use a bathroom".
• I asked for a easy Sudoko page. My mind was frazzled.
• Alison climbed in the back with Cache.
• Cache cried.
• Alison fed Cache.
• Ayla saw the food and cried. I gave her the one sippy of milk I had.
• We talked about the Secret. We laughed and said we would make it to the airport on time.
  
• Alison took Cache out of his seat. I am a big stickler for kids being buckled in the car but seeing as we hadn't moved in 45 minutes, I didn't say a word.
• I gave up on the easy Suduko page.
• We realized Alison would miss her flight.
• We called realized I wouldn't make it home to pick up Hunter.
• We called a backup. Network busy.
• We redialed and redialed. Finally Brent was on the line. He called a friend to pick up Hunter.
• We heard on the radio there was a 30 car pile up.
  
• We realized we had quite a bit longer to sit.
• I really needed to use a bathroom.
• Alison offered me a diaper for the 3rd time and I reluctantly took it.
  
• We laughed really hard.
  
• I could not use it however.
• We laughed harder.
  
• We made several calls to US Airways to find out what would happen if Al missed her flight. They told us we had to be there within 2 hours of her departure time to be put on the next flight without incurring several fees that would add up to over 300$, 3 times the amount we had paid for her ticket.
• We remained positive. We will have no problem making it there by 5pm. That gave us 5 hours to make the one hour drive. No problem.
• Cache cried(poor guy hasn't eaten in days because who knows why and he has diahrea, no wonder he is unhappy).
• We saw cars driving South(opposite the way we should and need to go) on the shoulder.
• We wondered, discussed and over analyzed what to do.
• We followed suit eventually and turned around once several in front of us have pulled and turned leaving us the room to make the crazy turn(that was our word of the day by the way, CRAZY).
• We felt as though we are breaking the law driving opposite the cars stranded on the shoulder of the freeway.
  
• Brent called me and said, "I can't believe this is happening. This is crazy." Yeah, we know. He said that we are doing the best thing and to take another route.
• A tow truck was now coming up the shoulder and we, along with those in front of us, turned around to let them by.
• We are now further back in the jam than we had originally been. We are still laughing. I can not believe we were still laughing.
  
• It has been over 2 hours.
• We sat and wondered and stewed over what to do. Should we have stayed going south and tried to get out when that was the only emergency lane, or should we sit longer on the road that we have heard on several radio stations is closed.
  
• After another half hour of sitting we turned around again.
• We went 10 yards.
• We saw a cop car and a tow truck further down the shoulder and turned around again.
• We sat and stewed and wondered what to do.
  
• We were grateful we were with each other and not our husbands though we love them dearly. I did not get angry due to the lack of progress to our destination and Alison did not poke fun at my indecisiveness.
• We turned around again.
• 10 yards further and we were directed on by the cop car.
• 10 more yards and we were at the end of the jam with a clear road to get to the next "on ramp" where we then exited and found a gas station.
• I used the bathroom. I am so grateful for bathrooms.
• I bought ice cream snickers. We deserved them.
• We got directions to the highway, although the guys said he had heard it was also closed.
• We were told the highway was 4-5 miles down the road.
• Sienna told us she had to go to the bathroom.
• Alison unbuckled her.
• Alison pulled her in the back with her and Cache.
• Alison took off Sienna's coat, her shirt, her pants, her leotard, her tights, her underwear and her shoes.
• Alison put a diaper on Sienna. Sienna did what I could not, and used the diaper.
• Alison put Sienna's, shoes, panties, tights, leotard, shirt, pants and coat back on.
• Alison buckled Sienna back up.
• Sienna started her 3rd movie.
  
• It took us 45 minutes to get to the highway. Remember it was only 4- 5 miles!
• The highway was open.
  
• We realized we were not going to make it to the airport by 5.
• My friend that had Hunter called and said that she had almost slid into another car, but that she was okay and that Hunter was home with her husband. She also said that due to an accident in the pass, that road had been closed and we wondered how Brent would get home.
• We talked to Brent. He said he would try it. The roads going up and down are separate so going down should be open. We found out later it was.
• I realized that I would miss our parenting class.
  
• We drove almost at the speed limit.
• Alison fed Ayla while leaning over the seat.
• Sienna finished the bag of popcorn I had bought at the gas station.
• Alison took more IB profen since she had 2 of her wisdom teeth pulled and four cavities filled the day before. I am sure that Cache's crying wasn't helping either.
• The road got slicker.
• The roads got icier.
• My windshield wipers were covered in ice.
• I leaned over to see out the window.
• I drove a few miles that way.
• I pulled over.
• I did not turn off the wipers.
  
• I got out, without a coat mind you, and pulled the still moving wiper up and out to take the sharp ice off. All the while I was moving with the wiper, I am sure looking very foolish(I sure felt foolish).
• I got back in the car.
• I asked Alison if she was laughing at me.
• She said she was.
• We both laughed.
• We kept driving.
• We slid through 2 different red lights because we couldn't stop.
• We went through the Burger King drive - thru to ask directions to the airport.
• We were told it was another 35 minutes away.
• I was not laughing any longer.
• It was 6:15.
• Alison called the airline for the 5th time and they told her that the flight she was trying to get to was booked.
• They finally agreed to transfer her to the ticket counter at the airport.
  
• I was near tears.
• She told them that we had been driving for 6 hours to get to that flight and they had to do something.
• The tears were brimming.
• They told her they were looking at the wrong flight and that there was a 8:55 flight(the one we knew about and were hoping to make) that she could come and try to make but because it was with United they would have to charge 70.00 bucks but that if she took a flight out tomorrow then they would waive the fees.
• We drove and stewed, and wondered what to do.
• Should we have just gone home in the first place? No because they said we had to physically be at the airport by 5 to not incur a fee. If we had talked to the ticket counter rep earlier would they have bent the rule and told us to just come back tomorrow? We will never know.
• We called Brent and asked him what to do.
  
• The tears were rolling over.
  
• Should we go to the airport and try to make the flight and pay the money and risk that she wouldn't get on it and lose the nonrefundable fee or should we turn around and drive in the nasty weather and come back tomorrow. It was hard to think of turning around when we had been driving for so long. Brent said it was up to us and started looking up hotels near the airport to find that the closest one was 25 miles away.
• We made it to the airport at 6:50.
• Alison went in to the ticket counter.
• Sienna said she need to use the bathroom.
• Sienna said she peed in her pants.
• I took Sienna out and proceeded to take off her coat, shirt, leotard, pants, tights and shoes.
  
• Her panties and tights were damp. Her pants were dry, thankfully since it looked we might be spending the night.
• I was thankful for the layers.
• She peed in a diaper and I put her pants and shirt and shoes back on with the extra panties that I had in my diaper bag.
  
• I took Ayla out and changed her diaper. This was the first time she was unbuckled in the 7 hour drive. She was an amazing trooper only squabbling the one time when she saw Cache's food.
• Alison came back to the car to tell me the grim news; the 8:55 flight was full and she would have to fly out tomorrow on the 12:20.
• We buckled the kids back up.
• We drove while talking over the options of going home or staying in a hotel. I wanted to get home and have my own bed, toothbrush and contact stuff and the kids beds but then we would be driving back the same drive that had taken us 7 hours and we would have to do it all over again.
• We decided the drive was only 30 minutes further than the hotel so we should just go home. And the roads weren't that bad.
  
• We drove by the hotel Brent had given us directions to.
• The roads got worse.
  
• We drove 35 mph instead of the 75 mph limit.
• We decided at this rate it would take much much longer to get home and we should just cut our losses and go to the hotel.
  
• We took the next exit.
• We saw a hotel and so we pulled up to.
  
• Brent looked it up and said it was 129$ a night.
  
• I decided to go in anyway feeling that I could explain our sad story and they would give us a deal.
• We saw a construction sign and that the entrance was blocked.
• As I said, "Aggghhh!" Alison and Brent(on the phone) laughed.
• I went around the back and the guy at the desk said he would come down to 116$. Forget it.
• We drove back to the first hotel and booked a room. It was 8:30.
• Once in the room we realized we hadn't asked for a crib. Alison went to ask them for one. They didn't have one.
• I wanted to cry. Ayla only sleeps in a crib. Cache had his car seat and Sienna could snuggle with me but Ayla....
  
• We tried to order a pizza to find that they had closed only minutes before.
• The phone rang. They were bringing up a crib(sigh of relief).
  
• Alison went to Taco Bell.
  
• She checked the sack to make sure it was all there, because you know it had been a CRAZY day. They had forgotten her order.
• She got back and we dove into the food. It was know 9. Alison food was the wrong thing. She ate it anyway.
  
• The girls wore Hunter's boy pajamas I had given Alison to take to Arlo.
• Sienna was hyper and being still so cute and excited about the house we were in.
• I thanked Sienna for being an amazing 3 year old that did not whine, cry or complain once the entire day.
• We went to bed.
• The night was not uneventful( but I will spare you).
• We woke up, ate, showered(now that the hot water was working again in our CRAZY room).
• Brent during this time called and stated that he was at the bus stop and that no one else was there.
• School was delayed.
• I called around frantically trying to find someone to take Hunter so Brent could get to work(I suggested Brent just take him but he didn't have a car seat which was risky especially because of the conditions in the pass, and furthermore he had finally, after 3 months, loaded up our old carpet into the back of the rodeo so there was no where but the front for Hunter to sit).
  
• I found someone to take Hunter.
  
• Brent was late(I don't think there is anything more irritating for him than being late, except for maybe sitting at a standstill for 3 hours but thankfully that we may never know).
  
• We told Ayla happy birthday and Sienna got very excited again.
• We left the room, not before Sienna got her hand pinched in the heavy door.
• She cried and whaled in pain.
• We walked out the hotel.
• I slipped on the ice on the stairs and planted my hips square on the edge of the step.
• I joined Sienna's cries.
• We made it back to the car.
• We drove, we passed the exit.
• I asked Alison if we had just passed the exit.
• She answered very calmly, "yes".
• We laughed at how she had answered because it was as calm as if she meant no but she explained that she was calm because of course we missed it, what did I expect?
• We laughed hard at that and drove and made it to the airport.
• We were on time!
• We said goodbye to Alison.
• Alison and I thanked each other for the experience and told each other that we were going to have a wonderful day.
• We laughed.
  
• I drove home.
• I passed an accident without much of a slow down.
• At 1:06, 25 hours after our departure and only a mere 22 hours later than anticipated, I arrived home.

Alison,

Thanks for the memory and the experience and extra day with you. You make me a better person by your calm, smooth nature. We had a blast with you here and can't wait for you to come back( you might as well drive though).