9 Years Post Apocalypse

It's been nearly 9 years since that fateful morning that Mr. Weasel and I awoke to find our entire world crumbling down around us.  In one brutally swift moment in time, life as we knew it was over.

It was apocalyptic.

Just one short week prior, all had been right with the world.  The doctors had given our brand new baby girl a clean bill of health and we would take her home from the hospital the following day.

Mr. Weasel and I left the NICU during the evening shift change to have a dinner at home with our other children for the first time in a week.  A week that had been filled with fear, anxiety and many more questions than answers.  Yet, we had emerged from that week victorious; I had 5 healthy children, a loving husband and father and a happy home that we would soon bring our newest addition, Claire, into for the first time. 

Anxious to be away from Claire's bedside, I headed back into the car, after a simple meal and a quick visit, for the 40 minute drive back to the hospital.  The sun was shining, the sky had been almost as beautiful as her blue eyes and a warm June breeze drifted through the air.

I was possibly the happiest that I have ever been.

I cranked up the radio in the minivan and sang along with a smile that you couldn't have smacked off my face as Steven Tyler belted out words that surely had been written for me and this exact moment in time. I couldn't wait to get back to Claire and I sure didn't want to miss a thing.   A song that unbeknownst to me, was foreshadowing what was soon to come, the theme song to Armageddon.


A mere 8 days later, it happened.  Death, like a thief in the night, had stolen our beautiful baby girl away from us.  Our world ended.

Armageddon.

However, 9 years later, I am here to say that we have survived.  We lived through the trauma, crawled through the rubble, hid in the trenches and sought refuge with fellow survivors.

Though not nearly as stoic, triumphant or glamorous as Hollywood blockbusters with end of the world themes,  We Have Survived.  

Starting from scratch, we began to rebuild our world amidst the fallout.  We slowly regained hope and kept our family huddled close.  There were countless dark days before we ever felt the warmth of the sun on our faces.

Yes, I still long for the world that once was; the innocence, simplicity and luxury of naivety that we once lived, but that world is gone forever.  We live in a new world now.  We've found a 'new normal', and for all of the negatives that we have come through, it's not without positives.  We love deeper, cherish stronger, prioritize better, and appreciate everyday together more sincerely than we ever have before.

Tomorrow, I will bake cupcakes and buy balloons.  All of the Weasels will pile into the minivan and we will head to the cemetery for a somber birthday celebration, as we hold tight the gifts that Claire left behind for us.  Gifts that were tools that carried us through the worst of times; Love, Hope and Joy.

Don't You Wish Your Wife Was As Sweet As Me?

Mr. Weasel does not like fly. He has gotten better over time, but back in the day, he was the guy white- knuckling the armrest and starting to hyperventilate because he was convinced that we were about to die.

I, being the kind, sweet, caring and devoted wife that I am, used to comfort him by rolling my eyes and comparing him in my mind to a two year old throwing a temper tantrum and holding their breath over a tootsie roll incident turned bad.. Yes, he's a lucky man.

Anyway, a few years back and by a few, I mean 13. $hit, it's been that long? Mr. Weasel and I were on a romantic long weekend getaway in search of housing in a new city that we were not thrilled to be moving to. We flew in on Thursday and home on Sunday.

We had a plan to make the flight go smoothly for both of us because when I am not traveling with children, I don't want to be bothered with tethering people to their seats. We would arrive at the airport early, take Mr. W to the bar and give him just enough booze to put him for a nap as soon as we boarded the plane.

This having been pre 9/11, the flight crews were still fun and often enjoyable company. We were on an aircraft where some of the seats sat facing other travelers. Mr. W quickly fell asleep before we even taxied. Luckily, my other seat mates proved to be a fun and social bunch and we were seated adjacent to the flight attendant, who was all about making her work day a good time.

We all had a good chuckle together as the Mr.'s adversity to flying was obvious to all in the way he gripped his armrest and talked in his sleep. By the end of the flight, we were in stitches.

When the time came for landing preparation seat backs, tray tables, you know the drill, I knew I had to wake Mr. Weasel, but I was ready to have some fun with it. I asked the flight attendant to pass me the oxygen mask that they use for the pre-flight demonstration. She laughed herself 1/2 silly and handed it to me.

"Honey! Honey! Wake up and put this on!! Quick, We're going Down!!!!!!"

He woke up alright. Screaming like a little girl. Thank God for seat belts. We were all laughing so hard that they were the only things keeping us safely secured in our seats.

Mr. Weasel still hasn't stopped cursing me over that one.

Lesson for the day: 1. Take every Chance you can to get away alone as a couple. 2.It's important to always pack your sense of humor.

Shook Me All Night Long

Well, not really all night. Actually, less than a minute is more accurate. It was quite exhilarating but an incredibly disturbing way to wake up. Not knowing what was happening, Mr. Weasel sat straight up in bed "WHAT THE HELL!" as the bed violently shook and the dressers rattled, reminiscent of a scene right out of the paranormal.

Clueless myself, "An earthquake?"sputtered from my mouth, as thoughts of Armageddon rattled through my brain. Stop laughing at me! I wasn't all the way awake & this kind of thing doesn't happen here! I listened for the sound of a snow plow possibly rumbling down the street as Mr. Weasel checked to make sure that Matilda The Hun wasn't scratching herself at the foot of the bed, even though neither of those things could rock the bed like this did.

It stopped as suddenly as it had started. I headed immediately to the best source for immediate information that I know, Twitter, and received confirmation that it was indeed an earthquake and had registered a 4.3 magnitude (It's now been adjusted to 3.8.).

It's not unheard of to have a n earthquake in IL. We do sit on a rather large, mostly inactive, fault line. A year or 2 back, there was a small one that was I awake for and still didn't feel. The neighbors did and it registered somewhere like 1.8. It made the news top story because it is such a rare event and I never would have known about it otherwise. So you can really stop pointing and laughing at me because I have never felt one before & it's not like I am vacationing in Los Angeles at the moment.

So, all in all, it made for a few minutes of excitement and with no damage involved, I can say it was kind of fun. Now to hope for aftershocks!