Last week, the wife and I were supposed to head down to Jamaica for a relaxing, tech-free week.

Didn’t happen.

Monday, we put our suitcases in the car. I go back into the house to make sure all the doors and windows are closed and locked. My mother calls just as I’m about to lock the front door. Dad is in extreme pain. He has pain radiating down one leg and can barely move. I tell her to take him to the doctor.

In the meantime, we cancel our reservations and drive down to Orlando. Turns out my dad’s symptons are called sciatica. Basically, there is a nerve that is completely on the fritz. The doctor gives him some pain killers and tells him to take ibuprofen. During the day, there is minimal or no pain at all, but it flares up at night.

To alleviate some of the pain, doc recommends he sleep on the floor with some blankets underneath. If the meds don’t help over the next couple of weeks, he will get some injections close to the nerves so they don’t flare up. Between the meds and some physical therapy, he should do better soon.

But there’s more.

In the middle of the week, with dad sleeping on the floor, my mom tries to walk around him. She slips, sprains her ankle, and tears a ligament. Now she has to use crutches for the next six weeks!

By the end of the week, my parents are doing better. They feel guilty that we canceled our vacation, so they kick us out of the house and tell us to go to Disney or one of the many theme parks in Orlando.

We end up spending a couple of days at Disney World. It was a good time to go, the lines weren’t long. Its hard to believe that Space Mountain is still entertaining after all these years. It isn’t the coolest thing on the world, but its definitely fun. I forgot about the Aerosmith Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster which is probably one of the better rides at the park. I’m surprised it doesn’t get more recognition like the Tower of Terror.

With the parents doing better and killing some time at Disney, the week ended on the up swing.

I will admit, seeing all the “thanks” on the Ubuntu Hall of Fame definitely helped improve my spirits. Thanks to all folks who “thanked” me (can we get an infinite loop going here?)!

To all of you in the US, have a happy thanksgiving.