The Road to the Hustle

The Road to the Hustle
I am sure you are expecting me to talk about the hours I spent on the Stair Master sweating while I watched Maury at the gym, but you are wrong because there is so much more that went into getting to the top of the Hancock and the Stair Master was the easy part. You see when you have a lot of kids you create your own entourage that has to follow you around. While you look pretty cool with all of these people around you it means you have to be creative when going places and doing things.

The Suggestion
After we signed up for the Hustle Denise told me she was going to have her Mom and kids meet her at the top of the John Hancock building.

I thought, “The entourage at the top…how the hell am I going to pull that off if I am climbing 1632 stairs?”

The logistics of getting everyone to the top required months of training for me and months of planning for everyone else…

The Questions
Problem:
What time were we climbing?

Thought Process:
We live 65 miles from Chicago, if I have to climb at 7AM and have to be there 60 minutes before that means we have to leave the house at 4:30AM…that’s not going to happen.

Solution:
Two Hotel Rooms 1 block from Hancock

Problem:
Where do I park?

Thought Process:
I drive a Suburban and parking garages in the city are not my friend.

Solution:
Pick Hotel with Valet parking

Problem:
Who is going to get the entourage to the top if Paige and Ty are afraid of heights?

Thought Process:
I need a team!

Solution:
See below...

The Team

My Mom aka She She
Pros
Only person I know who will voluntarily go to the top of a 94 floor building
Loves going on adventures in Chicago

Cons
Thinks I am going to drop dead of a heart attack in front of my family at the top of the building
Works weekends and does not like to take days off

My husband Terry
Pros
He actually said he wanted to go to support me…this was a first

Cons
Hates Chicago
Hates Crowds
Not a big fan of heights
Not good in stressful situations, for example, when kids flip out because they don’t want to go to the top of a 94 floor building

My daughter Amanda
Pros
Falls right into 2nd Mom mode when around the entourage
Loves Chicago
Camp Counselor voice

Cons
For 22 years she has refused to go to the top of very tall buildings
At Purdue University in Indiana
Works weekends

The Logistics
Saturday February 26th
6:30 – 8:30 AM Pack bags for 2 adults, 3 kids and 1 dog (food bags) & Pack picnic lunch for family
9:00 AM Drop dog off at Grandpa Bob’s
9:30 AM Amanda depart Purdue University
10:30AM Terry, Elise, Paige, Ty and Derek depart homestead
10:40AM Amanda arrives in St John Indiana and gets on South Line train
12:00 PM Terry, Elise, Paige, Ty and Derek pick up Amanda at Millennium Park train station
12:20 PM Terry, Elise, Amanda, Paige, Ty and Derek proceed to Museum of Science and Industry and Eat picnic lunch in Parking Garage at MSI
12:30 – 3:00 PM Entourage enjoys several exhibits at MSI
3:00 PM Depart MSI, contact Denise to make dinner arrangements, head to hotel
3:30 PM Arrive at hotel and in fire drill fashion unload 6 people, their bags, pillows, blankets, snacks and cooler (picture Beverly Hillbillies arriving in Beverly Hills)
3:30 – 5:00 PM Check into hotel and watch cartoons
5:00 PM Leave Hotel to meet Denise and family for Dinner
5:00 – 9:30 PM Dinner at Gino’s East
8:30 PM She She arrives at hotel after working all day (Team is now fully assembled)
9:30 – 10:30 PM Relax, watch more cartoons, send Terry to Walgreens to get milk for cereal for breakfast, put the entourage to bed and discuss logistics for the Hustle
11:00PM Attempt to sleep