Jimmy Buffett wasn't, shall we say, our most successful concert experience...
If we had left when we planned at 4:30, I think we'd have been OK.
But Bob had forgotten to pick up Laurel's medication from the pharmacy
in town, and by the time he ran back to get it, we left about 5:00. We
were just going through the gate when the skies opened up, and we were
soaked to the skin by the time we got to our seats (Laurel a little less
than the rest of us, because one of the security people had handed us a
poncho for her - but it hadn't covered her shorts/legs, so those were
still very wet). We were astounded when we discovered where our
accessible seats were, since we had paid lawn price - section 102! But
the bad thing about being in the back of 102 is that everyone in that
section stands up, all the time, making it hard for Laurel and anyone
sitting down with her to see anything.
By the time we had gotten everyone kind of dried off and run back
through the rain for some truly nasty overpriced food (we'd planned to
pick something up at a Sheetz on the way, but they're remodeling and
their food counter was closed), it was well into the concert. I was kind
of relieved when security busted the folks in front of me with the
digital cameras, because they were driving me nuts sticking their arms
in front of wherever I was looking. Then to top everything else off,
Laurel threw up just as Jimmy was starting into "One Particular
Harbor" (second encore, I think? At least she waited till he was
mostly done...). We're not sure why - maybe she had just been cold and
wet for too long (although she wasn't letting us know about it), or, Bob
says, the marijuana smell was really bad right by her and he said it was
making him nauseous, so maybe it was making her nauseous too. At any
rate, we beat a hasty retreat.
It still doesn't rate as our worst concert experience - that had to be
the time we saw Elton John and had lawn seats and it was pouring AND I
had the flu. I think we only made it about halfway through that one. But
it sure wasn't one of our better ones. I found it hard to ever really
get into the mood.
The rest of the weekend went mostly OK - Laurel did really well at her
therapy - although, we took her to what's supposed to be the largest
accessible playground in the country and I was disapponted that that
didn't go better. She liked the wheelchair-accessible seesaw, but the
swing and slide were not hits. I don't think she was in a very
experimental mood, though. Probably enough experimentation going on with
the therapy.
Oh well, better luck next year!
Some pictures from our Fourth of July...
Yesterday we went to a party at the home of some friends. They are
the instigators of a small neighborhood parade, which we took part in.
Since they were offering prizes for decorated wheeled vehicles, we
decided to submit an entry:
Laurel seemed to enjoy being in the parade:
This shot shows about half the parade 
:
Laurel won some hairclips for Best Decorated Wheelchair:
Laurel really enjoyed the fireworks last night, too. It was a good day.
I had a horrible morning...
We spent this weekend toiling in great anticipation of a contractor
coming this morning to discuss some additions/remodeling we wanted to
do, partly to make things accessible for Laurel and partly to do some
things we've wanted to do for a long time, like add kitchen counter
space and screen in the deck. We cleaned the whole house and I spent
hours on drawings. We wound up spending about 10 minutes with the
contractor (who barely made it past the living room), because when she
told us that it would be $250,000-$300,000, that was pretty much the end
of the discussion. We asked what if we did nothing but the accessibility
modifications, and it was still $150,000-$200,000. We can't justify that
for something that won't increase the value of the house.
Then it got worse. After she left, Bob said, "Well, that's it. We
absolutely can't afford the adoption. I'm serious this time." And
although I hear Bob say we're going to have to cancel the adoption at
least once a month because the wait is so long, this time I believed
him. And I just started bawling, the kind of crying I usually reserve
for someone dying. Finally Bob (who I think I pretty much panicked)
said, "We'll make it work out, we'll make it work somehow."
But it took me a while to stop myself. I guess I found out what was
non-negotiable for me - funny how you don't really realize sometimes
until someone threatens to take it away.
So, we're going to talk to a mortgage person and a real estate agent and
see whether moving is doable for us or not (we figure we'll probably
have to build, the chances of us coming upon something accessible aren't
that high). It's really not what we wanted, but it seems to be our only
choice. I hope we can come up with something we can afford - it's going
to be tough in this area.
And to top my day off, the next thing on my agenda was to meet a
co-worker out at a park kiosk that I got built a few years ago to house
environmental exhibits. One of the pieces of Plexiglas over the cases is
cracked and needs to be replaced, and we had to take it off and get it
to the glass store so they could use it as a template to drill the screw
holes in the new piece. In the first place, he forgot his cordless
screwdriver at home so was 25 minutes late. I spent the first 15
standing out in the 96 degree heat, but by the time he got there, I'd
caved and was back in my car with the AC on. Then, it turned out the Plexiglas
wouldn't fit in my Escort station wagon. We must have stood there for at
least half an hour, again in the 96 degree heat, trying to figure it
out, but I finally wound up going home for the Sienna (Bob was still
home because he was meeting the bus with the babysitter for Laurel's
first day of summer school). The co-worker had to get to a meeting, so I
wrangled the Plexiglas myself when I got back, and I finally made it to
the office two hours after the whole adventure started.
I am SO tired now... 