Oh, The Places You’ll Go... The Heart Of A Mother
I remember feeling exhausted at times (physically and emotionally) when the girls were little, and I would think... “I bet things would get a lot easier when they grow up.” And they grew up, and with their growing years, the worries only become bigger. Bigger kids, bigger worries. We’ve all heard that from a mom, an aunt, a grandmother, a friend, someone important in our lives. Well, guess what... they were right! The WHOLE time, they were right!
Michelle started getting sick over a month ago. It all started with a bad sinus infection. The following week, while still under treatment for sinuses, she got tonsillitis and it became so bad that she ended up in the emergency room because her throat was closing up. After examining her, the ER doctor decided Michelle had an abscess and would need a procedure done. More blood work was ordered and it came back positive for mono. Her symptoms only became more intense as the days went by. A few days later, she developed an ear infection and last week she came down with the stomach flu. Are you kidding me??? ALL that on top of mono, as if mono wasn’t enough. The hospital called a few days ago to say that her blood work showed another blood virus that had similar symptoms to mono. They said, expect all mono symptoms, pain and discomfort but double them. When Michelle was diagnosed with the sinus infection, they also diagnosed her with a suppressed immune system. The why’s, who’s and where’s will remain a mystery. Things happen, it’s life.
Michelle had been fiercely fighting all the symptoms while being alone in NYC. And by alone I mean, her family of course. Leaving school then would’ve meant loosing all the work she’d put in this trimester and having to take those classes all over again during the summer. She has been loving school and working hard getting good grades and training, and couldn’t even think about the possibility of throwing in the towel, so to speak. We talked to her every day, texted, video messaged, unpleasant pictures of enlarged glands and tonsils where sent (I could never be a Doctor!) long distance arrangements were made for medical care and when it all became too much she finally called home and said “I can’t do this anymore, I need to go home.”
In all honesty, I was waiting to hear those words. I had suggested it a few times, but she wasn’t ready yet. Yes, I desperately wanted her to heal and go back to enjoying her full load of classes and schedule, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen any time soon.
I was sitting at work on Monday morning when the tearful phone call came through and I immediately made plans to leave. If my kids say they need their mom and I know they need her badly, I’ll do anything under my power to be there for them. To say that I feel blessed to work where I work and for having the family and friends that I have, would be an understatement. Our lives are surrounded with the BEST people!!!
Flying was out of the question. We didn’t want Michelle exposed to even more germs in a pressurized plane cabin. Stan and I thought about driving to New York but that would’ve taken longer and since he is fairly new at the company where he works now, he doesn’t have a lot of vacation days. So the only option left was for me to tae the train solo. If you know me, even a little, you know how much I love riding Amtrak!
Monday was so beyond hectic with all the last minute travel plans, phone conversations with the Dean at Michelle’s school, finishing up a few projects at work, packing and getting ready to leave. Stan came home from work at 6:00 pm and we immediately headed downtown to drop me off at Union Station.
My train left close to 10:00 PM and by 6 PM on Tuesday I was in New York City getting Michelle. It was a tearful reunion. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to erase the weak and needy Michelle staring back at me when she saw me. She cried a lot and so did I. It had been too many days of back and forth, too many visits to the immediate care and ER and too many “I’m not getting better...” phone calls.
We stayed at a nice hotel called Hotel Pennsylvania. I chose that hotel mainly for the location. It’s right across (literally) from Penn station, which made it easier for me to help Michelle get to the train before departure. No need for public transportation and easy access. All we needed was a comfortable place to lay our tired bodies at night before our trip and a convenient location. Mission accomplished!
As soon as I got her settled in the hotel room, I headed out to find myself a slice of New York pizza (if you gotta eat, you gotta eat), and get a few things for Michelle at a Target nearby. Loved that Target! Huge and with a cool New York City style.
At about 6:30 AM a group of VERY excited women in the room next door started trying on clothes for their day in New York City. They went back and forth asking each other what outfit looked better on them. Apparently what Hotel Pennsylvania doesn’t have is thick walls, because by 8:00 AM I knew what Kathy, Sandy and Lucy were wearing for their tour in the Big Apple. I almost knocked on their door and said “would you like me to take your picture before you leave the hotel? You all look gorgeous!” So much for setting up my alarm clock for 10:00 AM, oy!!!
Now, let me go back to my Amtrak story. 😃
I love, love, LOVE Amtrak almost as much as I love tacos! There is something about it that makes me want to crave a train ride every once in a while.
Perhaps is the rocking back and forth of the train, the views, the unplanned meals, the naps, the movies, the reading and the overall laidback moments I have with myself forgetting for a minute that there is a world out there, off the train tracks buzzing around, never stopping, always busy.
Some people love just getting to their destination, hopping on a plane and being done with traveling. I enjoy even the “getting to...” part of it. And for some reason, airplanes don’t satisfy me that way.
Now, here is a fair warning if my excitement is inspiring you to take the train for your next travel plans. The Lake Shore route to New York from Chicago is my LEAST favorite route because it doesn’t have amazing views, and it doesn’t even have a dining car OR an observation car. Yes, I still love it because it provides me with an opportunity to sit back and relax, but it’s not the same. If you decide to take Amtrak and you end up taking this route and you don’t love it, don’t blame me, you’ve been warned! 😉
If I were to recommend Amtrak to anyone, I would say definitely take the Southwest Chief to Arizona or the California Zephyr to Salt Lake City, Utah. The California Zephyr is hands down my favorite Amtrak route so far! It has incredible views and before entering the Rocky Mountains, a group of park rangers get on and give the passengers a guided “tour” of the mountains while sitting comfortably in the observation car with a glass of wine or beverage of your choice and snacks. Ahhhh... I am ready to book the next trip!
Amtrak offers free WiFi service as well, which makes all the online movie watching more worthwhile.
We just saw the sun go down a few minutes ago. We are riding over a river near Utica, New York. Michelle is comfortably napping after having something light to eat and I’m about to browse through Netflix for a movie to watch.
Looking forward to getting home and giving my big girl lots of TLC so she can heal fully and promptly.
In all things give thanks and for these moments of peace and blessings, I am thankful. ❤️
