I was preparing for my 69th birthday in a month, and sent a request into my corporate manager to take the whole week off. Things at my part time caretaker job was going smooth and I didn't forsee any problems. My plans were to travel to my sons home about 300 miles away to spend the weekend and celebrate my grandsons and my birthdays together.Then come home and replace my broken driveway.
My manager was a little reluctant to give me the whole week off with no backup to cover emergencies, so I said I would handle any emergencies from home since I would only be gone for the weekend. My time off was approved.
The weekend came and my wife and I were off to spend some time with the grandkids.We stayed at a Motel with a real nice pool for the kids to come and have some pool fun. After we checked in we met up with my 3 yr. old grandson,and him and I went shopping for the perfect present. We agreed on a $10.00 limit and within a half hour we had exactly what he wanted.As we were driving back to the house he was pointing out landmarks and telling me where to turn to get to his house, he was so excited because as soon as we got home the party was going to start. It was a small party, just his 3 brothers,2 sisters and thier Great Dane. We opened our presents and then it was cake and Ice cream. We let the desert settle and then headed for the motel for some swiming and fun. The next day we met for lunch then spent the afternoon socialiazing and giving driving lessons to a16 yr old.
We headed back home for a day of rest before starting the driveway repair. My vacation was off to a great start
.
Shortly after arriving home I had an emergency call that the elevator in our handicap building was down.It turned out to be a minor repair , but took up most of the next morning. Around mid afternoon the contractor for the driveway showed up with his equipment and was ready to start. I had agreed to be his helper to cut down on some of the cost so I straped on my back brace and we began breaking up the old concrete. Laying out the new forms we decided to make it 5 ft. wider which ment we would have to do it in two different pours. One day breaking and hauling concrete,two days pouring concrete, and my whole body was throubing with pain. Wednesday we were finishing up the last part and I started feeling cramps in my gut. I went inside to rest for awhile then headed for the bathroom! I was in the bathroom every half hour for the next two days with diearea.Then the gas started and lasted the next two days. I decided that I had gotten Listeria from the cantalope I had from the week before. By Sunday I was starting to feel normal again, just in time to go back to work.
This will probably be one of the most memorable birthday weeks of my life. A little get away, a little fun, a lot of hard labor, and a lot of pain, but thats life and I will simply continue to live it to the best of my ability.
Earl Baldwin
