A couple of years ago, Stacy was looking for a way to make a little extra money to help out with our finances while still being able to be home with James. While she hasn’t made enough for me to become a stay-at-home dad, she has done fairly well as a Thirty-One consultant. One of the goals she set for herself was to attend the annual Thirty-One conference in Columbus, Ohio, and pay for the entire trip with money she earned from commissions. I’m so proud of her for setting her sights on something, working hard, and accomplishing it…while still giving James the excellent care she always has.
My sister recently joined Thirty-one underneath Stacy and she went with us. Although we warned her, I don’t think she was quite prepared for being in a car when most people are home sleeping in their beds. James travels better at night so we left on Thursday night July 27th at about 10 pm and made it to the hotel in Columbus by 5:30 am. We made some pretty good time. One of the benefits of driving at night is that there is very little traffic around the major cities. The last hour or so of the trip was a little rough on James. He slept for most of the drive, but woke up around 4:15 am, and started kicking up secretions, getting all gunky, and needing frequent suctioning. Once we got to the hotel and he was able to get some belly time, he was fine.
James and I spent most of the trip in the hotel room watching TV while Stacy and my sister were at the conference, but we did get out for food and wander around the convention center a bit.
Sunday morning, we packed up and headed back to Chicago. We decided to drive home during the day for two reasons: I had to work and James had school on Monday; and we figured that we could stop every few hours to give James some belly time in the van. He did good.
Leaving Sunday morning also allowed us to make a stop at Young’s Jersey Dairy for some ice cream per a friends recommendation. In addition to excellent ice cream, which James unfortunately couldn’t have, they had a little petting zoo so there was fun for all of us.
After we got home, Stacy put together a dream board. On the board she put her name badge from the conference and the pins she’s earned over the past couple of years. In the middle she put a little note that reads “Director 2018”. That’s the goal she set for herself. By the time the 2018 conference rolls around, she wants to be a director. I have faith that she’ll do it. When she puts her mind to it, she goes out and gets it.
