Actual picture my son took of the eclipse.

So, over last weekend, we drove down to Carbondale, Illinois to watch the eclipse on Monday.  We wanted to see the full eclipse, because where we live, we only had a partial view of it.  And I've never seen a full real one, and OMG I was not prepared for what I saw!  I mean, this picture above is one my son took and that's what it looked like in real life!  All I can say was when I finally took off my glasses and looked up I, I gasped and tears filled my eyes because it was an astronomical marvel!  Yes, it only lasted for a little more than three minutes, but wow, those three minutes were utter amazingness.  In those moments I felt a part of something truly awesome and something everyone around us were a part of it, too.  In those moments, I felt so utterly human, so aware of my smallness and the bigness of the universe around me.  It was truly humbling.  I had no words.  I was speechless.  

Afterwards, we travelled around Shawnee National Forest and got lost.  We started following random signs and we ended up here: 

Burden Falls.  This was truly amazing and awesome!  Not as much as the eclipse, but it was great in its own right.  

We stayed at a few hotels, one was super fancy!  The other ones were crappy compared to that one.  They were discriminatory though, as they didn't allow us to get free breakfast, even though we paid over $200 for the room.  All because we got a slight discount through Expedia (nowhere does it say that on the website).  I found that be a bit assholey.  But whatever.  

Then we get home and.....it all starts over again.  I found out that my mother acted like a little kid, like she always does whenever I am gone, and disregarded my rules and did however she pleased.  And then she came to my bedroom door, while my kids were on my bed loving up the dog we didn't take with us (Arthur, who was super depressed while we were gone), and she put one foot into my room.  I said to myself "Oh wow, there's her foot, pretty soon her body will follow".  And sure enough, came the second foot.  Then she started scooting in.  I was standing there, facing her, and she didn't care.  I think she thought her "inching" into my room would go unnoticed, but eventually, after she started craning her neck around my TV, I said enough was enough.  So I said "I need to go get my water from the kitchen" and then started walking towards her to usher her out.  She went without complaining, thank goodness. but now I have to watch her.  She's lately been asking to open my door for my dogs, and asking the kids to let her go in my room while I am sleeping to get her cigarettes.  Um...like that's ever going to happen. So, this incident, while may be a one-off thing, I need to pay attention to, so I don't wake up one day with her sneaking around my room.  

On the way to Carbondale, we stopped to see some family of mine.  It was weird.  Like it always is.  And I was glad to leave.  I hate small talk.  And I was soooo tired because forced socialization makes me sleepy AF.  One of the family members was planning on coming with us, but decided not to go, and I was soooooo glad!  My family and I are best left to our own devices.  I can't have actual fun with strangers tagging along.  

It was a really fun trip.  Except for the part where I found out that I am prolly allergic to milk.  So that was fun.  And extremely anxiety inducing.  And a huge part of my diet is milk, so now I guess I am going to learn how be milk-free.  I used to not eat dairy, because I was told my allergist that I was allergic to dairy (and they said I was allergic to peanuts, soy, wheat, and eggs).  And it turns it, I wasn't allergic to any of them (at the time).  They had tested me and I reacted to all of those things, but then again, I also reacted to everything else, plus the negative (which you aren't supposed to react to).  But now I have to learn how to eat dairy free foods all over again, as it's been a long time since I've done that.  

I will call my doctor tomorrow and see about getting an appointment with an allergist to see what's up.  Granted, I wont eat any dairy until then, but most likely, I will never eat dairy again.  

I hate being allergic to a food.  It scares me.  But, my hubby is allergic to anchovies and my oldest son is allergic to shrimp (he has FPIES).  

So I spent a large amount of my time worrying about this, but before that happened, I was having a blast :)  I even walked around the national forest by myself (with my dog) and didn't have any anxiety.  It was great!  

I can't let my mother shadow our trip with her assholery.  I won't let her.  Because that's what she wants to do.  So, instead, I am going to just remember this trip as one of a awesomeness :)  I got to spend a bunch of time with my kids and we all had so much fun together.  That's all that matters.  My hubby stayed home because of his job and he took care of my crazy mother (and our other wonderful dog).  I wish he could have come with, but even with just us three, we had a blast.  The eclipse was an amazing experience and I am so happy that I actually went with (I was terrified of going, as I hate traveling).  

And that's it.  Nothing else.  My mother can go be a ding-dong however much she likes, and she can't ruin it for us.  I have to stop letting her ruin anything for us.  Because while I was there, I did find a home for her to go to.  So, if all else fails, I know where mother will be living LOL 

Shady Pines, ma!!