It's my birthday and GUESS WHAT!
I'm not here.
I'm in California, reuniting with my beautiful, brilliant sisters, and we are on our way to Vegas. I'll be back in a week with wild tales to tell.
This vacation is one I've been increasingly excited about the past few weeks. Originally we were going to swing by Yellowstone (Edit: Yosemite - I had this mixed up all week) and attempt the Half Dome hike. Turns out, you need a permit for that, which is decided by lottery. Then Sister3 broke her leg skiing, and when we didn't make the lottery it seemed like it was probably better that way. Sister3 is fine now, after surgery, some new metal parts, and a few weeks in a cast.
Actually, this is a good story, so I'm going to tell it right.
The Break
Once upon a time, Sister3 was employed by a charming job that took her all the way across the country, far from her loving family. The job went about as well as can be expected in tech-centric Silicon Valley, but she was alone and perhaps a tad bit lonely.
So Sister3 did something as of yet unprecedented in her young life: she actively sought friendships with other human beings! This quickly escalated into such wild, depraved activities as going out for drinks, pretending to like sports, joining a cooking club, you name it.
All was going well, and these activities were doing their job of preventing the youthful Sister3 from working over 70 hours a week and reverting to a feral state. Then came one invitation even more grandiose than the rest: a ski trip!
Fortunately, Sister3 had skied this past winter (for the first time in 10 years), and remembered how it was done. Unfortunately, the Californian mountains are a lot less forgiving than the puny peaks on the east coast. And she fell.
As she had many times on the Camelback slopes. But this time, something was different. Perhaps her ski or her boot wasn't positioned correctly? It was very difficult to get them to lock back together. After a few attempts, however, she managed and continued on her merry way.
Only to collapse in a heap as soon as her left? leg was asked to bear any weight. "That's odd," thought the doughty lass, as she forced her boot back into the ski for another attempt. This time, getting the ski to lock on was even more challenging, but with a mighty effort, she managed.
And fell almost immediately. The leg wouldn't carry her, it seemed. So she sat and waited for a patrol to happen by and help her out of this predicament. In due time they arrived, and she was carried to the bottom of the steep descent, where she declined all further offers of assistance. As she attempted to limp away, the patrol insisted that she make her way to the first aid station, and she agreed reluctantly. After all, it didn't hurt, so she couldn't be injured, right?
2 hours and an X-ray later, the ankle was pronounced broken. And that should be the end of the story except that I'd like to also note that the intrepid lass did not want her friends to miss out on the rest of their fun. So in answer to the texts and queries, "Where are you?" she merely replied that she was resting in the lounge.
When all the fun was done being had and they gathered to commence the drive home, they were surely astonished to see her in her temporary cast. As was I when I asked, "How was the skiing trip?" and she proceeded to tell me about getting sunburned, and a getting a speeding ticket on the way home (she didn't break the driving leg), and then finally all casual-like, "Oh, by the way, I broke my leg."
And it is with this ridiculous person, and with the med school student who will examine the surgery scars and nod knowingly even if she makes no deductions from her examination, that I will spend the next week. As I sit here typing this, I can hardly wait!!!
Do you have any ridiculous or eccentric family members? Who are your favorite people to take vacations with?
