Before my boys fell to the gastro-intestinal virus at the InHome conference, we all had a fabulous time. My two may be the only ones who look right in this picture, but they are part of a kid-chain holding an enormous, 85 pound snake. This was one of several entertaining and informative wildlife sessions at the conference this year. At one point, while I was on the treadmill during a sprint, Mark sent me a the text "here comes the hedgehog!"Despite screams from Large "This is the WORST conference EVER!" while lying in bed watching the Disney Channel all day (we don't get cable, so this was unusual in itself), the conference really was as good as ever. Even Large went to four fabulous sessions - lego robotics, roller coaster making, foam sword making and the reptilian wildlife session - before falling ill. Medium made it to all her sessions, striding off confidently on her own, calling or texting us when she was finished. Her favorite was the session with the resort chef, touring the kitchen, seeing how professionals prepare food. Small petered out early, at five it's a stretch for him to be in a "class" for an hour. And then he was hit the hardest with the illness. I took to calling our room the vomitorium.
My favorite part is volunteering at the Information Table as the conference opens. I love to be able to help people find their sessions in the sprawling Pheasant Run Resort. And I love seeing everyone I know, chatting with friends, catching up with acquaintances. It's stressful as the opening sessions approach - hence the treadmill - but worth the effort. Mark and I worked our schedule smartly this year so that one of us would be available each time slot just in case someone got sick. And two did. Even that wasn't so bad from my perspective - someone else had to wash all the sheets and towels!
It was a long sick, though. We were housebound from the time we returned on Sunday until Friday morning.
3 comments:
My kids once got to do the snake thing at a library program. I would have run far, far away in the opposite direction!
How unfortunate that sickness put a real crimp in things. We were there ourselves a few weeks ago -- not fun at all, but at least we weren't doing something special! That stinks ... literally! You should take a look at this great series of books by Charlotte Cowan, who's a pediatrician. She writes about fevers, sore throats, colds and, the latest, about gastrointestinal stuff. Perfect for you! The newest is called "The Moose with Loose Poops," and it tells it how it really is. My kids loved it -- and keep asking for it, even though they're not sick anymore. They think the title is really funny and they love the fact that there are "loose poops" in the story. Kids are kids!
Sounds like a fabulous conference! We've had kids go down sick at a conference too. 2 yrs. ago, at the WPA conference, my oldest woke up and promptly puked all over the place -- 'causing him to miss the ONE session he'd really been looking forward to: fishing!
Anyway, hope you're all feeling better now. It seems to be going around!
Thanks everyone. Yes, we are better. We always catch something at the conference and it's always worth it anyway.
Post a Comment