Those of you who check in on a regular basis likely noticed there weren’t any posts last week. To be honest, I didn’t even think of it until earlier this week. It wasn’t because of a lack of things to write about, but rather the alternative…

It all started almost two weeks ago – on Feb 12 – when I packed a bag and took off for the weekend to help my family and a family friend at the Iowa Beef Expo. Four days at the State Fair Grounds in Des Moines working with cattle, catching up with other seedstock producers, and trying to stay warm – it was a balmy 4 degrees while walking cattle from tie-outs to the display barn on Saturday morning.

Photo courtesy of IBE Facebook page.

By the time Monday afternoon rolled around I was ready to head home and see the DW and kiddos. Four days away is more than enough for me. Instead, a call from work let me know that I needed to be in Portland the rest of the week. I was home in time to throw my bag from the weekend next to the laundry, pack a carry-on, and grab a few hours of sleep before heading out early Tuesday morning for the airport. By Tuesday night I was checking into a cheap hotel near the airport.

Photo courtesy of the Port of Portland.

Wednesday was a bit of a whirlwind… in order to get on the grounds of the $150 million construction site I was visiting, I had to go through a site safety/orientation class starting at 7 am. Then it was off to pee in a cup at a lab downtown – a drug test to get on site was mandatory, even though the results wouldn’t be back until after I was comfortably back in Iowa. I guess they figured if I was willing to submit to the test it really didn’t matter what the results were. Finally, I was allowed on site for a few hours of work. Come Wednesday night, I was tired, had a good supper at a dive near my hotel, and it was starting to look like I might have a little time on Thursday to be a “tourist” before flying back to Iowa on Friday. Then the DW called… Peanut was sick.

While it appeared to be a stomach bug, the same symptoms can also be signs of a “mechanical” issue for Peanut. Additionally, even a simple stomach bug can quickly dehydrate Peanut to dangerous levels. Since Peanut only seemed to get sicker over night, the DW was taking Peanut to her specialist at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital (UIHC) Thursday morning. I was trying to rearrange my flights to get home asap on Thursday.

I was lucky enough to get home late Thursday. Peanut spent most of the day Thursday and Friday between UIHC and the local hospital re-hydrating with an IV, and though she was sent home late Friday night, we had to take her back to her local pediatrician for a check up Saturday morning before the IV was removed. By Saturday afternoon she was running laps around the living room and screaming at the top of her lungs while playing with Lulu and Potato Boy.

A noisy house is a wonderful thing.