Last week was the first week since May that we didn’t have a wedding.

The first time this summer that we didn’t look forward to a weekend of wedding cake and the Black Eyed Peas telling us that tonight’s gonna be a good, good night.

No, in fact, we were looking forward to two full days OFF – in a row!  Naturally, I booked tickets to see the boy at his new Air Force base in New Mexico. It’d been a month since I’d seen him.  I was looking forward to it.  No, wait.  Scratch that.  Not just looking forward to it. Craving it.  Yearning for it.  Imagining over and over how I’d tackle him in the airport.

But most of the time, when things are too good to be true, they usually are.

John got a last minute call that they needed him in Colorado for training, thus canceling my trip.   I, on the other hand, got a last minute call that I was about to be sicker than a dog.

Real sick. The kind of sick that hits you hard and fast out of nowhere — like that police car in your rearview mirror that appeared out of nowhere. The kind of sick that actually made me take a sick day and cancel meetings.  Gut wrenching pains, headaches, nausea, sore throat, and 72 hours of you don’t wanna what….

All during the one week I didn’t have a wedding.

What’s a single girl to do?  Go home to mamma.

You see, I’m the youngest of five kids.  My mom calls me her baby.  I used to get annoyed with it when I was a fussy teenager.  “Baby?! I am NOT a baby anymore.”

Truth be told, I am.  A big one.  And I’m okay with admitting it.

Because you see, I’m not married, so I can justify I spending two solid days on my mom and dad’s couch.  I’m the baby.  And I’m okay being babied.  There’s no better way to be sick than to be with your mom.

She. Took. Care. Of . Me.

Two movies, lots of water and tea, and 5 episodes of I Love Lucy later, I was on the up and up.  Just between you and me, I think I had West Nile.  After all, I’d been shooting the last three days in a row in mosquito infested areas.

But I digress.

No matter how old I get, I’ll always be the baby of the family.  Mom, I’ll always be your baby.  Thank you for taking care of me this weekend.  I don’t know how I’d live without you – literally and figuratively.  ;-)  I love you.