The last day of '08: We got up early (6am) and drove to Iowa City to the University Hospitals for a check up for both of my children. We see a doctor for some behavior issues caused by the kids' bio mom's drug and alcohol problems. It was a real test to get there without stopping at McD's or other fast food places at the insistence of my son. He is hooked on fast food and it's a challenge to take him anywhere. I only stop for occasional treats but I think his dad takes him out to eat most of the time. He's learning that that isn't acceptable with mom but he still tries. We approached one town with clearly visible Golden Arches. He meekly asked if we could stop. I said no we weren't, maybe AFTER the appointment. He held his breath until we got just passed the exit ramp and then let go with a kicking , screaming, crying fit. I pulled off onto the shoulder of the interstate and waited until he calmed down. Of course I also said if this continues there will be NO stopping for lunch ANYWHERE. A long trip to and from Iowa City without food. He finally calmed down and apologized. This was the start of a major headache that carried thru the day. The appointment went fairly well and we headed out to find a place for lunch. No Steak 'N Shake close by. Didn't want Applebees. Sonic looked good but we mistakenly followed a car into the storage units right next to the Sonic drive in and had to retrack into the correct driveway. We parked and walked in the near ZERO temperatures to the door only to find out they want everyone to call in from the drive up menus OUTSIDE. No thank you!! Besides my van windows don't work due to an ice build up and resulting bent interior parts. I was not in a real good mood towards fast food at that point! We went to HyVee and ate at their deli. Really good food at really good prices! Of course the kids only ate 1/3 of their plates but that made for more take home. I have to say if you are really hungry but don't know what you want, go to a HyVee deli! Lots of choices, FRIENDLY service, and good prices. We saw construction workers, families, "suits" all eating together. What does that tell you about the place? Positive feed back!!! So after using the CLEAN restrooms and viewing the cake department (really neat custom made cakes for all occasions!) we went down the street to the Salvation Army store. Found some good bargains and met a friendly woman who talked to me and the kids every time we got close to each other in the store. She said she had bought $100 worth of furniture there recently. While we were talking , she found a large stand up jewelry box (4' high?) priced at $90. We both thought that was high until I pointed out that it had a red sticker, which made it 75% off! $22.50-not bad for that size! We found new but damaged package toys for less than a third of normal price. Anyway, a fun place to shop and bargain hunt.
We got back to our home town and I stopped at the grocery store, post office, pharmacy(closed), then called the ex to see what his plans were. He said he's meet us for supper but he was planning to stay in town to party with his friends for New Years. Guess we're too boring for him. We told him" see ya next year" after supper and left him to his own destruction. Went home and fell asleep at 9PM with head colds and jut being tired after the long day of travel. Maybe we are boring!! He wanted us all to go to church together today. Sorry, we're not pretending to be a family at church anymore. He needs to decide what he wants and stay with it. I don't feel like it's THIS family at this point. He took my son to church with him and MIGHT watch the Hawkeyes in their bowl game here later. I think it's going to be "too noisy and cluttered" for him. The bar will probably be a better choice than the family room! We'll see....
I'm hoping this year is more positive than last. My fortune cookie from HyVee said "Your luck has changed today". Here's hoping... Happy New Year to all.
