Saturday, February 8, 2025

Monday, February 10, 2025

Good morning, family!

How’s everyone doing?

The Brickhouse crew flew into town yesterday, and we met up at a brewery in Mundelein called Tonality. Since it was late, we didn’t see the little ones, but I did catch a great photo of Coco. Her hair was down, completely covering her face, and—surprise, surprise—she tripped and fell walking through the airport. A stranger commented, “Well, if her hair wasn’t in her eyes, that wouldn’t have happened.” She’s 1½ and falling is what she’s going to do. I can relate.

Dinner was good! Tonality is one of those rare breweries that actually has a kitchen, and the food was delicious. The beer? Not bad either. We started with cheese curds, which I thought were top-tier, but I’ll leave the official ruling to Barb and Mark, our resident cheese curd connoisseurs. Cindy and I had the fish fry…which was also good. I didn’t get feedback from the others, but I also didn’t hear any complaints. I would definitely go back.

On the home front, we’ve got a week of tiling behind us, and the bathroom floor is nearly complete. It’s weird looking at a shower with no curb (see photo). I keep thinking we’re about to flood the entire place the moment we turn the water on. I trust these people, but the real test will be that first shower. Fingers crossed.

Now, for the TMI segment of the day…yesterday’s gross ALS-related moment. Feel free to skip this part.

So, I’ve been sick for a week but finally felt decent yesterday. Still a little congestion, mild cough, but manageable. Here’s the problem: coughing is supposed to clear the junk out. Except, when I cough (and it’s a weak cough), all that lovely, thick mucus makes it to my airway and then just… stops. Like a stubborn houseguest refusing to leave and it’s past my bedtime. Suddenly, I can’t breathe. My cough isn’t strong enough to clear it, so I start the mental pep talk: Stay calm. Get a little air in. Try again. Nope. Nothing. And this goes on for five minutes…an eternity when you’re gasping for breath.

Cindy’s watching, helpless. Meanwhile, I’m thinking, I need a suction device and I think turkey baster. But we don’t own one because, because I didn’t anticipate needing emergency airway help at home. Next time you see a turkey baster in our kitchen, just know it might have a dual purpose.

Anyway, I escape to the bathroom so as not to horrify the tiler, and I work like mad—slow, deliberate breathing, trying to clear the blockage. The sounds I was making? Nightmare fuel. It was The Beatles White album being played backwards…which I still couldn’t figure out the meaning. You could hear the air struggling to squeeze past and tears rolling down my face. Finally I managed to clear things…thankfully this wasn’t a public setting.

Crisis averted. Until it happened again a couple of hours later. Someone out there has a voodoo doll and is not playing nice.

But today is a new day—no incidents this morning! Looking forward to spending time with the kiddos and having a great time. Love you guys! ❤️