An unexpected vacation

I'm pretty sure if we ignore the signs we need to slow down, God makes it happen anyway.

Yes, the four who caught 'flu were in various stages of sickness for a whole week. You know what else? Between the illnesses and the weather, we spent a whole week inside, at home (except for my brief outings for "sick" food and library books/movies) resting and just being together.

The way it worked out, I never had the bulk of work because someone always felt at least well enough to help out. G's co-workers kindly told him to stay the heck at home and keep his germs to himself and the anti-viral made a big difference to everyone except Curly Sue (who turned out to be very, very ill for a couple of days).

So no, it wasn't the sun-yourself-by-the-pool kind of vacation, but it was a break from all but the most pressing work and a chance to really, truly rest -- something that we all needed. Even I got enough rest because G's days were better than his nights, so when I slept very little to care for whichever one(s) needed me at night, I was able to take long naps in the afternoon when G could hold down the fort.

I am very thankful I never got sick. Our school schedule was suspended for the week, so I had lots of time to read and finished a couple of good books. I'm on a true crime kick right now and just got done today with London 1849: A Victorian Murder Story, about a couple who murdered a friend for his money. Michael Alpert wrote much more about everyday life in that era, almost like a history book rather than a typical crime account, and I found it fascinating.

Lizzie Borden didn't really kill her father and stepmother. Her illegitimate brother did it, according to author Arnold Brown. I didn't care for Brown's style of writing -- it reminded me of your hairy-eared great-uncle who won't ever get to the point in his long story, with a lot of "more on this later" and "we'll talk more about that in later chapters" and "this was important, as you will see." I didn't finish it, just read the first few chapters and skimmed the last few, because life's too short. (Also, I wanted to prove to a certain brother that I don't actually like or finish every book I start!)

Lucky I didn't finish, because that gave me time to discover Erik Larson. I started The Devil in the White City, which is an amazing historical account of the architect Daniel Burnham, genius architect behind the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, and serial killer H.H. Holmes, who used the fair to lure victims to his "castle." I'm looking forward to finishing this one and exploring more of Larson's books.

One thing my brother got right is that I can't just have one book going at a time. Joseph Wambaugh's The Blooding is on my list for tonight, and because I can't just read blood and guts all the time, I also plan on cracking open Sari Solden's Women With Attention Deficit Disorder. I recently finished her Journeys Through ADDulthood, which I found extremely enlightening.

(Oh yeah, and I also got a chance to see Duke get crushed by Villanova in the NCAA tournament. Sweet!)