We went to Bremerton to see Clint's dad last weekend. He was in the hospital recently and had just returned home. Thankfully there was nothing seriously wrong with him. He's not been taking great care of himself, and was weak and malnourished. He had a stroke last year and has been depressed and anxious ever since.
After ruling out other options, we decided to bring Chico, our chihuahua, with us. This meant staying in a motel instead of with Clint's dad and stepmom. We found a great hotel close to Clint's dad's place, but it was unavailable Friday night. We decided it would be worth it to switch lodgings after one night if we could stay in this hotel, which had an excersise and game room, indoor pool, an ocean view, and a killer rate. For Friday night, we made reservations at a nearby motel that would take dogs, but when we got there, the room was unacceptable. Linoleum flooring and only 6 inches of clearance around the two queen beds. With 6 of us in a room, 2 have to sleep on the floor, so it just wouldn't work. We sat in the parking lot calling places, trying to find someone that could accomodate all of us and the dog.
We did, and things worked out great, but it was stressful in the meantime. Rhiannon had been feeling poorly prior leaving on the trip. I had suggested it might be better for the two of us to stay home and let Clint and the other girls go without us. We couldn't expose an 83 year old man in poor health to a virus. But Clint and Rhiannon felt it was possible that her looming sick feelings were temporary, so off we went. It was clear by the time we reached Ellensburg that Rhiannon was pretty sick. She was feverish and dazed. She doesn't travel well anyway, so she felt pretty awful. Waiting in the car while we struggled to find accomodations after a 4 1/2 hour drive was agony.
In the end, we got a great deal on two rooms at a Comfort Inn in Port Orchard. We've never stayed in two rooms before, so for Clint and I it was like a mini holiday. We haven't been in a hotel room without a child since our wedding night. We all ate out at a really nice Mexican Restaurant, trying to make the best of an uncomfortable situation. Rhiannon was like the walking dead the whole time, but had vetoed the idea of ordering a pizza in our room. In the morning we ate their continental breakfast with homemade waffles, and then Clint and the girls went to see grandpa while Rhiannon and I spent an incredibly boring morning watching motel TV.
At checkout time Clint returned to the motel and moved us to the other hotel, which had allowed us to check in early due to Rhiannon's illness. After unpacking and getting the girls settled, we left them there at the hotel, and Clint and I went to visit Clint's dad. Then, I came back to the hotel to watch over Rhiannon, and he and the girls went back for dinner with his dad. After they got back I went out and picked up some dinner for Rhiannon. In the morning I swam and had breakfast in the hotel with the girls while Clint went to visit his dad on his own.
Tamzin had a great time collecting shells on the beach outside our room. We had a first floor room with a sliding door and a fireplace; the girls had an adjoining room with it's own sliding door looking out on Puget Sound. Gillian and Tamzin loved the pool, although we didn't have much time to swim with all that was going on.
Clint's dad was grumpy and uncommunicative. He would often interrupt the conversation to say "I don't want to talk about that". Clint was tense and worried after seeing his used-to-be-genial dad. I was concerned about Rhiannon, whose fever was very high and who was having difficulty getting rest under the circumstances. We ended up arguing our last night and morning, which was a bummer since we were staying in such a nice place, and it should have been great.
The last time we visited Clint's dad we stayed with them, which was great because we could help with the cooking, and had lots of time for visiting. While staying in a hotel had the potential to be fun, it made it harder to have a meaningful visit. I don't think Clint felt better after seeing his dad, and I'm not sure his dad did either. He seemed to be aware that Clint was struggling to manage his family and his sick daughter, and so insisted that Clint not return after his Sunday morning visit, but instead take Rhiannon home. I had wanted to make this trip with Clint so I could help keep his stepmom entertained, so he could have one-on-one time with his dad. But I ended up being no help at all.
Clint worked so hard to make the trip comfortable for me and the girls, when he should have been focusing on his dad. But he's a problem solver, and making things nice for his family was something he could DO, while I think at his dad's he felt quite helpless. It's been 9 months, and no one has been able to figure out how to cheer up his dad, and they understandably worry about his unhappiness sending his health into a downward spin.
I think we will all have pleasant memories of this trip (except sick Rhiannon) but we didn't really accomplish what we had hoped to with Clint's dad. At least we got to visit.
My Valentine's Day gift to Clint. Flowers, candy, Emmets (he loves a dash in his coffee in the morning) and a handmade card. I decided to go traditional this year. I don't think I've ever given him candy before. I'm pretty sure I've given him flowers before, but he doesn't remember it. After he was asleep last night, I brought in the flowers and arranged them in the beautiful vase I got for Christmas, and left everything artfully arranged by the coffee machine, so he would see it all first thing in the morning, while I was still sleeping.
