Aaaaaaahhhhhhh....parenthood

(You can tell this is gonna be good already, huh?)

So, a couple of weeks ago one of Maranda's friends invited her to spend the night at her dad's (she lives with her mom) for her birthday on the 17th. We didn't know if she could at the time, because that was the same weekend as the State Swim Meet and we weren't sure if Maranda would qualify to swim at state. She was highly irate at the time that we couldn't give an immediate answer. So, she ended up not quite getting the times she needed in a couple of events to qualify, which means that she was able to go to her friend's house. She was slightly disappointed about swimming, but excited about going with her friend.

Saturday was the big day. I dropped Maranda off at her friend's house and the friend's mom was driving them 30 minutes to meet the friend's dad and he was taking them the other 30 minutes to where he lives. Although, they were staying in a hotel room so the kids could swim at the pool there.


Saturday night, Maranda was gone with friends and Mark was at work. I didn't quite know what to do with myself. :) I watched a couple of movies on TV and did the dishes. I know I lead an exciting life. At 9 pm, the phone rings and all I can hear are kids having fun in the background and my child crying. Maranda didn't talk, just cried. (This is not the first time this has happened. She would do this in Lincoln, too.) So, I'm trying to get her calmed down enough to tell me what was going on and she finally says that she misses us and she kind of wants to come home, but kind of wants to stay and she's upset. (Did you get the part above, where they're an hour's drive from our house?) I keep trying to calm her down and get her to stop crying. After about 10 minutes, she sounds like herself and I tell her that I'm not willing to drive an hour just to get there and have her change her mind. So, I tell her to play with her friends for awhile longer and call me at 10 pm to tell me what she wants to do.

At 10 pm, she calls and tells me that she wants to come home. So, the friend's dad gets on the phone and gives me directions to where they are staying. I call Mark at work and tell him that I'm headed to pick up Maranda and he'd be home from work before we'd be home.

So, I drive an hour north of Green Bay. I go through Oconto, Peshtigo and Marinette. Then, I cross the Menominee river and enter the upper peninsula of Michigan! I had to leave the state to pick my child up from her sleepover! They were only a few minutes over the bridge....but, seriously...

When I got to the hotel, Maranda was in good spirits and still ready to come home. Thankfully, her little friends weren't mad at her and they didn't seem to be teasing her about leaving. We didn't get home until about 12:30 am and she promptly went in and went to bed. She slept in until about 9 am on Sunday, which is like sleeping in until Noon for other people. :) So, we survived, but I had to leave the state to get her. Can you believe that?