Convention 2004: Rest and Relaxation

You may think me crazy but that is what I got

Rest and Relaxation

Finally, I was getting away from my children and doing something all for me. I am so tired and worn out from years of taking care of the children twenty-four/seven for most of their entire life. I have to say in the eight years of my son’s young life I know I have had a total of six weeks away from him and that was because of a mental health hospital stay that should have happened twenty years previous, oh well, that is not what I came here to talk to you about this fine day.


What I came here to tell you is that last weekend was the most relaxing weekend I have ever had since moving in with my husband. I take my job as a stay at home mother seriously, as I believe every mother working, inside the home, should. Before you tell me that not everyone can stay home with his or her children, I know that. What I wish is that every mother (and father) would spend the time that they can spend with their children teaching them to be good human beings with great morals and values. If you choose to have children then you need to take the responsibility to raise them right. Just because I choose to work inside the home does not mean that life is a vacation and I need no real vacation away from the children.

My First Vacation Without My Kids

When I got to the convention site, which was the Holiday Inn in Bethlehem, all I could think about was rest. I needed that more than anything else because I was still reeling from a baby-sitting job I took for a student of my psychology professor husband. The girl I baby sat was a nightmare and would lie to us constantly and do things that we had already told her she could not do. Well that left me agitated frustrated and tense. So this vacation was a godsend.

Anyway, back to the convention and rest. The first night I went to bed earlier than I have ever done in years: ten-thirty. I was beat as Jacque, Viv, and I had been up since four forty-five AM central time.

I am not even sure if my head hit the pillow before I feel asleep or after: It may have been a tie. The next thing I know it is morning and Wenston and Gymnast were getting ready for breakfast. Life Writer was still asleep on the floor with earplugs in place. Oh no, we did not force her on the floor but she choose to sleep there as she said it was better on her back.

I moaned and groaned until I realized that I was felt rested for the first time in many years. When I am at home I am usually rudely awakened several times during the night by my husband snoring, ever so loudly, in my ear: thus never getting a restful nights sleep. My husband is wonderful but the snoring has got to go.

On Friday, as others have mentioned we had breakfast and creative sessions galore and some lunch was served. After all that there was free time, for me nap time. The most important part of my days whether I am at convention or not. I actually go as far as to tell my friends not to call me, unless it is an emergency, during eleven and three because I am napping.

I went back to the hotel room to lie down on the bed and soon fell asleep until the maid came by to clean our room. During the twenty-five minutes it took the maids to do a quick clean of the room I sat in the open lounge for the attendees but the whole time my eyes were only half open. Thus I went back to the room to lie down again.

I did not wake up until one of my roomies came in to say dinner would be soon. I felt rested and ready for the evening’s programming. The programs included a creative campfire like session, dinner, and a storytelling campfire session where the feral chicken, ZooFLAC, and, the milk spewing speckled frog came into play and joked about throughout the weekend.

When the main programming was finished a bunch of us got together and played Bullshit, a card game, from which Winklett gave a evil look of how dare you doubt me look, even though she was indeed lying or rather bullshitting.

I stayed around the lounge for a few more games then decided that it was time that I get my sleep. The whole reason for me coming to the convention! I knew it would be another whole year before I get to totally relax again. I will say that with one ear always open it is hard to get a full night’s sleep.

On Friday, I woke up rested and we had breakfast then three more creative sessions from which by the third session I was running out of ability to add-on to others stories. There were some that were so bizarre that I would try and clean up the dirty ones but even that did not work.

After lunch there was free time and yes, I took a nap, and then dinner. ‘Open Mic Night’ followed dinner. Where I got to applaud for various acts that included monologues, readings and story telling, and everyone’s favorite comedienne, Winklett. Free time followed!

Many went to the ‘always open’ lounge for some those who never sleep. After awhile I got so tired that I went to bed this night though I got my own bed because as Wenston said the next day I was spread out and she did not want to bug me when she came in later that night.

Saturday morning I woke up when Wenston and Gymnast were getting ready to go to breakfast. I was ready by that time as I got a full night’s sleep again. The restfulness soon became my weekend theme.

A creative auction followed breakfast. Lunch happened during the auction. I never I missed a meal while there. I was going to get my moneys worth even if I gained a zillion pounds. Heck, I could afford it; I am what people consider under weight, anyway.

Oh yeah somehow I ended bidding on a TV that I probably could not afford in the first place. I thus received a ‘Highest Winning Bid in the Creative Auction' framed badge.

Ok, after the auction, I bet you can guess what I did, yes that is right: I napped. The maids again woke me when they came to clean so I just got up and stood against a wall by the TV reading the bios in the yearbook. Boy, did I learn a lot about people at that time, not really, but there were a few chuckles that came from my mouth I am sure.

It was during the latter half of free time everyone started getting ready for the wonderful formal dinner, which was more than good it was excellent. Many of us had the super delicious steak (cooked to your liking), vegetables, and baked potatoes started of with a salad and mushroom soup. After that was the dancing.

The best part of the dancing was the wonderful toast given by the Story Master. He toasted the great job the staff at the hotel did and toasted the good time had during the weekend. There were also the presentations Moo made to the Story Master and Mistress of a shirt and Thank You book both signed by all or most of the attendees.

After the presentations and ‘Thank Yous’ and everything else the Master and Mistress decided to give us a chance to be a part of something we will not see, their first dance that they will perform at their wedding reception in the Fall of this year. It was adorable they were adorable, and managed to put a tear in everyone’s eye. I stayed for maybe a half hour longer then left to go back to the room.

I quickly changed out of my church clothes as I am not a formal wear person and will not buy something I will only wear once. Believe me any formal wear I wore when I was in high school does not fit now, some ahhh fourteen years later (I turned nineteen the year I graduated in nineteen ninety) you do the math.

Anyway, I went back to the room and decided I would pack as I needed to figure out if I was going to be able to get everything in my suitcase or if I was going to need Story Mistress to ship the coffee mugs we received at open mice night and the two others I ordered. I also had won a huge thing of tootsie rolls the first night because I was the closest on the ‘Guess How Many? ‘ Contest on the first day. I ended up having to give most of them to Life Writer though because they were not going to fit in my suitcase or my carry-on backpack. I really did not need the one hundred and fifty or so tootsie rolls and canister anyway.

The next day was Sunday a day of ‘Good-byes and see you on line’s’ and a group photo was taken at some point as well unfortunately many had already left.

Throughout the weekend, I was also able to talk and laugh as well as joke around like any adult needs in their life. Heck, on a typical day I only have semi adult conversations when I talk to others on line when I am on scroll, IM or Yahoo Messenger.

After lunch that day Viv, Jacque and I headed to the airport and we soon realized that we had Phil on our flight at least as far as Cincinnati, Ohio. We got there very early so we could get everything checked in and make sure that we got Viv in a wheelchair ad everything else. Because we arrived early it lead to our ability to say some longer good-byes to other attendees that were also leaving my plane.

By the time we got to Oklahoma City it was about one AM or something like that because we were delayed a little over three or four hours in Cincinnati the three of us were tired. My husband surprised me because he was at the airport waiting for me; I was expecting him to be late as usual.

I stayed with my family at my in-laws house in Norman, Oklahoma that night and we travel back to our house in the Panhandle, some five hours away that Monday.

Having returned home rested, I am now ready for the year to start on August eighteenth when the boys, husband and son, go back to school.