Goodbye, Spring Break

A few years ago, my entire family, all sixteen of us, spent Christmas in Breckenridge to ski--well, most of the others ski but not me. It was to be the dream vacation--renowned ski area, huge house that fit all of us comfortably, though some complained about their sleeping arrangements and there was almost mutiny when I pulled seniority and claimed the master bedroom because it was the only one on the same floor as the living area. It was also the largest, with its own bathroom.
But our dream vacation didn't turn out so well. Everyone got sick--my oldest son before we even got there, several of the others almost immediately afterward. Colin claimed it was the sloppy Joe I'd fixed the last night in Fort Worth. I have always claimed it was the fast food chicken restaurant in Amarillo. Finally the other day, Colin admitted he knew I didn't make anybody sick. But you know something's wrong when kids tell you they're too sick to open Christmas presents and just want to go back to bed.
Then my youngest son, Jamie, got altitude sickness; his oxygen levels were so low that someone told me they should really have hospitalized him, but they sent him home with oxygen. Son-in-law Brandon had a less severe case, and at least one of their children was sick.
In the week we were there, I got out of that house once. The car got stuck in the snow. Ice was everywhere, and I was nervous about footing. I think Breckenridge is probably a really cool town, but I never saw it. I spent most of my time working at my computer at the dining table--shoot! I could have stayed home and done that. A lot cheaper.
By the time we stopped for the night in Dumas, Texas, we were on flat ground and back home and all felt fine. I hope that's our last high altitude adventure.
This spring break has been Breckenridge redux. Colin and family went skiing at Wolf Creek with another family: so far the report is that he has a sinus infection, my nine-year-old granddaughter has the flu; in the other family, the dad and oldest daughter got the flu plus the girl got pink eye. Z-packs and Tamiflu abounded.
Meantime, at home, Jordan had a sinus infection, and I've been fighting a cold for three days. It's not really bad--certainly not bad enough for doing more than drinking tea and soup and waiting for it to go away. But annoying. I had great plans for spring break--Jacob would be with his grandparents, and I would have lazy mornings, lunches and dinners with friends, and long naps. I've gotten the long naps but cancelled two lunches and two dinners. The good news is that I got a lot of writing done.
But I'm ready to get back to routine.