Gnats

Yesterday both Sister and Brother were complaining about an infestation of gnats they've had this year. They were comparing techniques for getting rid of them. As I thought about it, I realized that my experience in this motel has been like their gnats: minor things that can become very annoying. When we arrived and checked in, we were directed to the elevator to come to our room on the third floor. I asked which way the room was from the elevator, and was told there were signs to point the way. The signs had fallen off the wall and hadn't been replaced. We went part way down the wrong hall before realizing that if we went the other way and turned a corner there was a long corridor leading to our room.

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On the reservation, I stated that we needed a refrigerator in our room for Daughter's insulin. There wasn't one. The guy at the desk had to go search unoccupied rooms to locate one for us, and when we got it up here, it leaked and smelled bad. The motel information folder was completely empty. The display on the alarm clock was broken. There was no Do Not Disturb sign to hang on the door.

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I chose this motel based on the fact that they stated they had free wireless internet and a hot breakfast. Toast does not qualify as a hot breakfast in my book. We went out for breakfast today, as yesterday's was so awful. I finally figured out I could give Daughter a peanut butter and jelly sandwich as something that would provide a reasonable amount of protein. The bread was dry and stale (I should have put it in the toaster for a hot breakfast).

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This morning, when Daughter went in to take her shower, she announced the toilet was overflowing. Sure enough, the shut-off mechanism inside the tank was broken. They had to come and replace all the innards in the tank, but maintenance wasn't going to be in for another 3 hours. They offered us a different room, but instead we headed out to a restaurant for a real hot breakfast and then went to hang with Sister and Little Niece.

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All these things are just like gnats, minor annoyances. Sister commented today that this hotel seemed to be pretty bad. I didn't respond. I'm not going to let gnats get in the way of all the good things that have happened during our visit. Sister took Daughter shopping today, and Daughter was quite pleased with the clothes she was able to purchase. On our way back to the motel tonight Daughter said, "You know, I have had a good time. Even though things weren't the same, I've had fun. Thanks, Mom." That's much more important than all the gnats in the world.