Back Home Again, In Indiana

Wow. Driving overnight was a strange experience. Alecia and I split the driving, but it was still difficult staying awake while at the wheel. I really think you need to rest up the day before if you plan to stay on the road in the wee hours of the morning. We survived the trip, though, so I suppose we can count it as a learning experience and try to be smarter next time.

One odd thing about the trip was the fact that my three-year-old only slept about two hours over the course of the ENTIRE drive. So after getting up around 8:30am on Thursday and not taking a nap all day, she endured about twelve straight hours in a car without really sleeping. Instead of dozing off, she stayed awake watching Nickelodeon cartoons on her portable DVD player. And she didn't just watch them, she participated. For the entire drive, she sang along, danced, and answered back to Boots and Dora, Blue and even Little Bill. So not only did she fight sleep off with a stick, but she acted like it was the most refreshing experience of her life.

When we arrived at my mom and dad's place around 11am this morning, Maddie was still going strong. She had non-stop energy and a cheery demeanor while playing with Grandpa and Grandma, wrestling with cousins, etc. When we finally packed her in the car to go to an early dinner with my parents, the inevitable happened...she crashed. She fell asleep on the ride to the restaurant. We woke her long enough to get her into a seat and ask her what she wanted to eat. She fell asleep at the table about ten minutes after that, and slept quietly in her chair while the rest of us dined. It may seem cruel to keep a kid at a restaurant when she's obviously so tired. But we knew she was too out of it to care, and we were pretty hungry. Besides, it was sort of nice to have a dinner as a family without having to tell her to get back in her seat, say please, or stop whining.

Anyway, she's been sleeping since dinner, and will hopefully stay in bed until morning, at which time, we'll all get up and go see my nephews play basketball. It will sort of be a sports day tomorrow, as we'll attend a basketball doubleheader and follow that up with some chili and football at my sister's place. Should be fun.

Warmest greetings from the heartland.