Sick Flags

Vicki and Bill and Leah and Chris and half of El Dorado came up this past weekend to go to Six Flags Over Texas. Vicki and Bill were kind enough to buy me a ticket, and Vicki volunteered to watch Alex at the apartment all day so Tim could study and I could go with the rest of the gang to the park.

A whole day without my baby!? I had mixed emotions. I knew I would miss him desperately and would probably spend the entire day wondering what he was doing. I mean, I haven't even been separated from him for half a day since he was born, let alone a whole one. But I was also excited and knew that I could really use the break. Because, for the love, I haven't been separated from him for half a day since he was born. And these were ideal conditions. My biggest concern (my only concern, really) is that he gets good naps, and since he is not the most laid back sleeper, him being able to sleep at home in his own bed totally eases my mind. Plus, with Grammy doting on him all day, I had zero worries about anything else.

So when they arrived in Dallas Saturday afternoon, the entire entourage stopped at our apartment to see Alex and check out our crib. Alex was pleasantly surprised at the sight of so many pretty girls and was even more so when he noticed that the pretty girls had brought the rest of his birthday gifts that we had sent to Eldo with Grammy and Poppa.

Sunday morning around 8:30, Bill swapped Vicki for me (a downgrade, for sure) and we left her with Alex and headed to the hotel to meet up with everyone else before heading to Six Flags.

As a kid, we used to go to Six Flags in St. Louis or Great America outside of Chicago at least once a summer, and I never met a ride that I didn't love. Then, when I was about thirteen, I barfed all over the guy next to me on the Buccaneer ride at the local fair. From that point on, I couldn't even ride the Monorail without wanting to blow chunks.

So I went to the park armed with a vial of Dramamine and a prayer. We decided to start of the day with a bang and hit the first roller coaster we saw, which we subsequently rode three times in a row. Immediately after, I developed a strategy I called "Ride & Recoup", meaning I would ride one and then skip the next, giving my stomach a chance to recover. It seemed to work out pretty well. I got to enjoy lots of rides and only threw up four or five times. No, not really. But I did feel like throwing up four or five times. Why, motion sickness?? WHY??

Of course, it didn't help that it was about six hundred degrees in the shade. But we slathered on the sunblock, stayed hydrated, and luckily, we found some great water rides that helped cool things off.

Bill and I left around 7 while the rest of the gang stayed to close the park down. I was utterly exhausted as we headed back home, thanks to the Dramamine, the heat, and more exercise than I had gotten in a year. I didn't think a day of kid-free fun could be more tiring than wrangling Alex away from no-no's all day, but I was wrong. In the end, it was a great day of fun and I certainly appreciated not having to change any poopy diapers or pull mashed bananas out of anyone's hair.