I went to go hang out with my best friend from school that I haven't gotten to see in a number of years now. We hung out at her parents house and just talked all day. It was nice, because I rarely have a chance to do anything like that nowadays.

Anyway, she is only down for a few weeks before she heads back to college upstate, so my in-laws watched the girls today while Joey slept and I went out. That was nice, as he got to sleep in a lot more than usual too.

On the way back home, I saw some people standing outside their house looking down the road. (They were on top of a hill.) I could see police cars with lights on in the distance so I slowed down as there are several hills and I had no idea if they were moving or not.

After them not blazing past me, I came to the realization that they were stationary and there was something large and white on the roadway. It didn't seem to be completely blocking the road because the cop car was right there and I figured it was just waiting to move the strange object.

As I get closer, I realize it is a camper trailer flipped on it's side blocking the entire roadway. Even though it was on it's side, the truck that had been pulling it wasn't and was almost in the ditch, with the hitch still attached. Craziness, as there is no way that the whole thing makes any amount of sense.

Now, I've never been in this area and I was taking the route I had come in from home as it was a very short distance, shortly less than half an hour. My GPS had died because I left it on when I got out of the car, so I had to wait for a while before I could turn it on.

I thought I could just ask the police officer on my side of the accident what would be the quickest way around, but the car was empty! My lord, they just up and left the car parked in the road, they weren't directing traffic, and they weren't even around!

It happened in front of a house, which was about the only one for half a mile, and people had just randomly gathered to stare. Apparently, this little community literally has nothing better to do in their spare time. (Mind you, we all did the same thing when the house next door burnt to the ground, but at least that was a fire with explosions!)

None of those people even wanted to look in my direction because I'm from a different state (Indiana & Illinois do not get along down in this area--hence the river between us. XD) so I wasn't about to ask a question and be rudely ignored because I wasn't "from around here."

So, with my sucky sense of direction and the sun setting (Did you know I'm night blind? Well, now you do!), I turned around and headed down the closest turn off to the south. It was a dirt/gravel road and I had to travel quite a way before finding a horribly curvy paved road which I followed until I finally got the GPS on.

Do note: When traveling in southeastern Illinois, never ever take Route 11. My lord, that road was nothing but slam-on-your-brakes-and-hope-you-turned-the-steering-wheel-hard-enough turns. Mind you, by this time I was over an hour late at getting home and I was driving 70MPH half the time, but still.

Managed to get back home after a little over an hour, no thanks to the GPS that thinks the bridge near my house is a toll bridge and tried to direct me around it--I didn't go that way of course--and told me it would take between two and a half to three hours to get back home.

..All of this because someone flipped their damn camper.

After that, I had to get Joey and head out to the in-laws to pick up the girls before he could go to work for the night. We only had an hour and we barely managed. Tonight has been one of those nights, I suppose.

On top of everything else that has happened this week thus far, I called my mom and she told me that my aunt (She's not really my aunt, but my mom's best friend but she is just as much family as anyone. <3) had called this morning to let us know her father was taken back to the hospital.

You see, he had open heart surgery a number of weeks ago. The doctors told him if he didn't have it done he may live a few more years, but if he did he'd probably live longer.

Anyway, he had chest pains this morning so they took him back to the hospital. (He's only been back home a few days. ) The doctors discovered that he has congestive heart failure and won't be getting out of the hospital this time.

My aunt is a very, hmm, unique person. She's got everything wrong with her and is an only child. Her parents always treated me like the grandchild they never had and I always considered them my other grandparents. I love them both to death, just as my aunt.

I can't imagine him not being around. He's just always been around town, hanging out in the bars drinking coffee and smoking with his son-in-law. He's funny, but he's been going downhill for some time now... Still, I don't think anyone thought it would be this soon.

My mom is worried about his wife and my aunt, as am I. He and his wife have been together since they were teenagers and we all know what happens when older people start dying... When one goes, the other soon follows. Plus, she isn't in the greatest health anyway.

My aunt is always sick, always taking a ton of meds, and I don't know how she is going to handle this. On the outside, she'll act completely different than she is on the inside. Honestly, she's almost committed suicide several times and she's not going to have her daddy around anymore... I can't begin to imagine that. :*(

It's all so, so horrible and I'll be helping out as much as I can. Kalli has gotten to meet him a few times before but Izzy hasn't so far because he's been rather ill since she was born. So, at the least, I have to take them down there to say goodbye so he can see them both.

I'll take my aunt or her mother down to the hospital whenever they want to go if at all possible, because I know they can't just stay down there with him and neither can drive that far. I'll help them in any way I can, because they have always been there for us when we needed a shoulder to cry on--they are our family, even if not by blood.

I'm just concerned about the well being of my aunt and her mother. It's going to be super hard, as her mom has been coddling her like crazy since she had surgery and I'm sure loosing her husband is going to make it so my aunt has to be around her 24/7... Which will drive anyone mad.

My aunt and her husband will probably have to move in with her, we assume, just to get her through each day. That house will never be the same after this, and it's a huge part of my childhood just as they are. I still remember sitting in the floor playing with their old dog Pokey that died over a decade ago...

..It'll be so strange, not seeing him sneak out on the front porch after dinner, smoking and waving at anyone he knows as they drive by. :*(