Best Laid Plans

I had the day planned for months. Send the little one to grandma and papa's for the night, book a suite at The Andiron in Little River, CA, for our fifth anniversary of being a couple, seemed fitting since that's where we got married and I adore the place (You will too, go on, pick up the phone and reserve a cabin. We've stayed four times and have always chosen the William & Mildred Suite, for sentimental reasons, but I've been inside each cabin because we rented out the whole place for our wedding, & they are all uniquely charming). We arrived, only an hour late, not too bad for parents of a three year old, and immediately I sprawled out on the king size Sealy Posturepedic bed, champagne in one hand, and a book in the other. I planned to stay there until they kicked me out. Maids were going to have to knock, say housekeeping, turn the key and still find me in that bed, then roll me out whilst changing the sheets, shaking out the crumbs, books, champagne bottle, and empty Ben & Jerry's pint.

This is what I had in mind, and what I got to experience for about ten minutes...

Then all was changed by a ringing phone. There's no service out there, so when I heard the old fashioned black phone ringing in the other room I bolted out of bed, unsure of what was happening. Was it Scott up at the Inn's office, telling me we were fabulous and deserved a complimentary bottle of wine? Yes it was Scott! No. He was not offering wine. My in-laws were at the emergency room. Fear set in as I imagined our daughter needing stitches or a cast, but he calmed my nerves a bit when he said she was okay. Turns out something my mother-in-law ate did a number on her, so bad so that she was in excruciating pain and had to be taken to the ER. I retold the story to my partner who was in the shower-a shower later she would confide was the best shower she'd had in months. That's what a good shower comes down to when you have a child; no one peeking there head in, asking what you're doing ten times in a row. Then I dashed back to Fort Bragg, which is a good twenty minutes away. Once in the ER I found my father-in-law was managing to keep our daughter entertained, asked how grandma was, "No word as of yet," then headed back to the Andiron, feeling happy that my mother-in-law was not in a life or death situation, but feeling a little defeated. The rest of the day consisted of entertaining our daughter, but there was a little more lying in bed with my book, it wasn't uninterrupted, but I did get a foot rub (Yes!!) and more champagne (double Yes!!). 

Our daughter however had the time of her life...

I'd say that one day we too will get to have that big of a smile on our face from getting whisked away to a beautiful Inn, but the truth is, once you have a kid, nothing is certain or set in stone. On the bright side, she makes our heart smile everyday, so we're pretty damn lucky. I mean, how can you not feel okay with missing out on a romantic weekend when you see that scrunched up nose smile?

p.s. We'll always have The Andiron, July 10, 2010. And, Scott DID give us a bottle of wine in the end!