Our First Visitors!

I have a question: when counting stairs, do you count the top step as a step? Like, the platform in which you step onto… If you said “yes,” then you are correct. If you said “no,” then you agree with Michael and are wrong. To me, we have 30 steps leading up to our apartment. To him, 26. Now we count our steps everywhere we go and everytime we go up and down the stairs. “Geez, I’m tired. Good thing I only have to go up 26 steps,” he will say. Punk.

We had a really good weekend! Like I said before, Mike’s mom, grandfather, sister and her friend came to visit. Friday morning I had to work and then after that I went home, had a tummy ache and went to bed at 5 pm. I missed the baseball game, woke up at 9, stayed up for a couple hours and slept until 10:30 the next morning. 14 glorious hours of sleep. I’m smiling just thinking about that.

So because Friday was a “wash,” Saturday was my ease back into active living. Mike’s mom came to see our apartment when Mike was gone to the field and everyone else in her party was taking naps. What a boring, sleepy post this is. Sorry. Anyway, it was really nice to just hang out and chat with her for about two hours. Just about this, and that. I love that Mike’s family likes me (right?), especially his mother since they are so close. “Thank you for taking such good care of my son,” she says.

We went to the game and met up with Mike’s uncle and aunt from Georgia. Afterward, we went back to their hotel to chat and hang out a little and then Mike and I went to cause some ruckus. Apparently some guys think their apartment is haunted. Supposedly, something “weird” happens every night, even at the “same time.” So Mike parked around the corner and I ran up to the apartment, banged on their windows and ran away. We drove away into the night sky laughing and laughing. The next day they claimed kids were messing around with them. Yes, us kids were.

Sunday morning I took his sister and friend on a hike. They claimed to be so bored, saying South Carolina sucks, so I figured I would take them to do something they really can’t do in FL. I asked them a bunch of times if they were sure they wanted to. Yup… okay. Mike and his mom went to breakfast laughing at what was about to happen, feeling mildly sorry for me (his mom, not Mike).

I’ve done that hike before, and told them it’s five miles total, at max, and there’s a waterfall at the end. That I’ve seen kids do it, and they played college softball. Think positive. Not a mile into the hike I started hearing it all: “I’m gonna turn around. This sucks. Eff this. I don’t care who says I quit, I’m done. I’m never hanging out with you again. You’re gonna get me killed. I sprained my ankle. I feel sick. How much longer?” …all the way up.

Okay. I realize that not everyone likes hiking, the outdoors, being active for pleasure and by choice… I do. And I try to be understanding and patient. I didn’t say much in response, except try to motivate Mike’s sister by saying how brutal he would be if she quit.

We all made it up and back in one piece! I hope they enjoyed it a little- it seemed like they liked being up at the waterfall. Hiking is probably not something they’d do a lot more times on their own, but they did it, and I was glad to have company the whole way.

After that, we rushed to get showered and to the game. And, oh yah, Mike left me to pick out his mother’s birthday gift!! That is trust. And pressure. I picked out something that later I found both kids liked and she loved! Probably most happy that she was with her kids on her birthday and Mother’s Day weekend!

My mom was actually in Chicago that weekend with my dad having a kid-less adventure. I sure missed them, but you know, it’s really awesome to have someone close to you- outside of family- that treats you as their own, and that’s how Mike’s mom makes me feel.

They left this morning, but only after a visit to us at 7 AM for an excuse to see her son by bringing us coffee and tea. What a nice weekend! The only downfall was that his family never got to see Mike pitch! But, um... we love visitors (ahem!).

Next up: Mike leaves and my sister arrives this week!

#outside #groupie #greenville #home