It was finally the weekend. Boy, did I need it! I wasn’t planning on going to Slovenia on Saturday, but my brother wouldn't take no for an answer, so off we went.

First things first. On Saturday, I finally got my medication. The pharmacy messed up, so I had to wait an extra week, and my stomach wasn’t happy about it. It was so hot that my husband and I had to give me the shot in the car. Now I had to go shopping with a sore leg! I needed to buy a gift for my grandmother’s 85th birthday on Sunday.

After shopping, we went to a picnic at a colleague's new house. Her husband is a chef, and the food was amazing. Usually, we chat while eating, but this time we were all too busy enjoying the food to talk. The plan was to spend the whole day there because more colleagues were coming, and the more, the merrier. But then my brother called, wanting me to come to Slovenia because he wanted to go to a concert and didn't want to go alone. I wanted to see one of the best Croatian bands, but their iconic lead singer, Aki, passed away two years ago. I wasn’t sure how they could replace him. But my brother was insistent, so I said, why not? Let’s see if the new singer can fill Aki’s shoes.

So, I packed up, left my husband at the picnic, and headed to Slovenia. The roads were packed because everyone was heading to the sea. I made it, though. My brother was thrilled, and my mom even more so when she saw me. I spent an hour talking with my grandmother, who had been in the hospital last week. She always thinks I can diagnose her because I work with elderly people. I tried my best to explain her test results. I'm still not sure if she understood. She is fine now, and that's important!

Then my brother's friend showed up, and my brother finally admitted that he needed me to drive them to the concert because he didn’t want to drive. Thanks, bro. So, I ended up driving three “kids” to the concert. But I don't regret it, the concert was fantastic. Even though Aki was gone, the new singer did a great job. Everyone sang along, and I lost my voice from singing so loudly. Good thing everyone else was singing too, so no one noticed my terrible singing. Only my shower hears me singing. Poor poor shower.

Every year, there’s a festival in Murska Sobota called Soboški dnevi, with five days of concerts and activities. I used to go every year as a teenager, but I hadn’t been in a while. Maybe for a good reason. We went home right after the concert, and I was in bed by 2 a.m. The next morning, I felt like a zombie. I drank one beer. ONE! My mom made me coffee because she thought I had a hangover and couldn’t make it myself. I asked her if she really thought I was irresponsible enough to drive my brother drunk. Okay, I did drive drunk once when I was 19, and I felt too confident behind the wheel, so never again, and I really love my driving license, so no thank you.

We had a big family lunch for my grandmother, and she was so happy to see everyone. The place felt like an old farm with animals everywhere. It was a beautiful moment, and I just watched her smile, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

But I had to head back because I had work on Monday. I packed up and left, only to get stuck at the border for half an hour. Everyone was heading back to Austria. Sitting in traffic made me rethink my car situation. Maybe I need an automatic. My leg was killing me from working the clutch and gas every 30 seconds. Or maybe I should just avoid driving during the holidays.

That was my weekend. How was yours? Anything interesting happen? 😊

“The only reason why we ask other people how their weekend was is so we can tell them about our own weekend.” ― Chuck Palahniuk 😊 😊

With love, @tinabrezpike ❤️