April Fool's

All day yesterday I kept waiting. Surely someone would jump out and declare it was all a joke. But no. I was just having one of those days.

It started with the several inches of snow that had fallen overnight. On April 1. I know we've gotten snowstorms before in April, and even May, but come on already!

AJ, for some reason I can't recall (something about the kindergarten teachers needing to be somewhere other than in the classroom), didn't have school yesterday. AJ was very aware of the significance of the April 1 "holiday." For two hours I had to keep it from running in to wake up Daddy with his well-planned trick. Finally, I let him go for it.

"Daddy, I missed the bus and you have to drive me to school!"

I wasn't there to see or hear how it all played out, but a minute or so later, a dejected AJ came back saying, "he didn't believe me."

Remembering why this day was important to Jeff, I whispered a new plan to AJ.

Back he ran, "Daddy, I'm going to root for the Yankees this year!"

That must have gotten a better response because AJ quickly returned, laughing at his own cleverness.

With Jeff awake, Sydney and I headed for the pediatrician. Of course by the time we got there, her fever was gone. The doctor said we've survived the worst of it (though we're not out of the woods yet, in terms of any of the rest of us getting it), so the focus is on ending Sydney's diarrhea. The doctor recommended "FloraBoost", an over-the-counter pro-biotic. She conveniently provided me with a slip that listed the name, as well as the two specialty pharmacies in town that carry it and their addresses.

So off Sydney and I went, in search of the closer of the two options - at 1501 London Road. We got to that address easily enough. And found the Marine General store. I drove around the block again, hoping to see a tiny side office or something that would give me a hint of where the pharmacy was. Nothing.

I pulled over to the side of the road and plugged in the pharmacies name in my phone. 1601 London Road is the real address. So off we went again, found it quite easily and pulled into the parking lot. I unhooked Sydney from her carseat and carried her into the building, only to be "greeted" by a rather unfriendly pharmacist who informed me they don't carry that product. I suggested she let the pediatrician know this (not to mention their correct address) and she replied, "We have." Lovely.

So off Sydney and I headed again, in search of the other option - Veritae Wellness on Rice Lake Road. As I drove, I remembered that Rice Lake Road covers a very long stretch, and so at the next stop light, I quickly entered the address into my phone to figure out how far we'd be driving. Of course, my phone's map function decided to stop working right about that time. The light changed green. We continued driving. Another red light. Tried searching again. Still no luck. Green light. By now I was turning onto Rice Lake Road and so started looking for signs. Did I mention it was unbelievable foggy?

I passed the large Marshall School campus and it's ice arena. Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a building labeled "Marshall Professional Building," and just beneath that, "Veritae Wellness". I hit the brakes and turned into the lot. Seven parking spots: each labeled "reserved for Sylvan Learning Center only." On the far edge of the tiny lot I saw another car parked. I pulled in behind it, and through the fog saw the "No Parking - Fire Lane" signs. I pulled back out and turned to see if maybe there was an alternate entrance and parking on the side of the building. No - this just set me on a track comparable to the "no turning back" lanes you find outside an airport: drop offs only - no stopping - no parking. I was now forced to drive all the way around the school and ice arena, and finally made it back to my original spot... and pulled into the Sylvan-reserved parking spots.

Walking into the building, I found the store and - hooray! - found the Floraboost. I asked the employee where exactly I was supposed to park and she answered, "I know, isn't it annoying?"

Why, yes it is!

From there we headed to my office, which was the designated "kid exchange" spot. Jeff and AJ met us there, and I sent Sydney off with them. I then spent the next five hours of my day off at work, trying in vain to get caught up after all the schedule disruptions of the last week.

And then we rounded out the day with that wonderful fiasco also known as the Twins season opener.

Putting it all in perspective... Sydney's on the mend. No new disasters suddenly appeared. And at least my day wasn't as bad as the Twins'.