...to have coffee... and to debrief life a little bit with
my friend, Erin.
This caused all kinds of comic relief, because Ian was
immediately distressed, since "Erin" is a "boy name". Why was Mommy going to have coffee with some guy
who wasn't Daddy? Oh, for crying out
loud! After explaining that Erin is,
indeed, a girl, Ian let me go...
I was planning to slowly sip my mocha (the biggest one on
the menu, because I seriously needed it by the time I actually made it to the
coffee shop), chat for a little bit, and then run one errand. Just one.
I fully expected to be home by 11:00 at the latest.
When I reached the parking lot at 10:15, I thought I'd check
my texts quickly. I was met with a text
from 1/2 an hour earlier informing me that Phil had been rear ended in a
neighboring town, and his head hurt. I
tried to text. I tried to call. No response.
I finally gave up and started driving toward the neighboring town
figuring that I could probably find either him or the van, hopefully both.
Before I got very far, I got another text
that he was at the doctor's office (that's where he was headed anyway), and
could I meet him there? I figured things
were probably not as bad as I'd imagined them, since he wasn't at the ER and
could still text.
I found the van in the parking lot. It had obviously been in a collision, but it
was drivable. I proceeded to wait in the
waiting room at the doctor's office for what seemed like forever, because I
guess it doesn't matter if your spouse has been in a car accident, you just
have to wait there. Whatever. There is no Internet connection, so I played
"Popcat" on my phone. A lot of
"Popcat". Don't judge me. I didn't come prepared for this. I didn't even have a book! I now have so many magic fish it's
ridiculous.
Phil finally emerged with a diagnosis of whiplash. OK. We
can live with that. But, you know, I
thought we probably needed lunch at this point.
All of the texts from the kids indicated that everyone was still alive,
no one was lost, and my teenagers are responsible enough to homeschool
themselves and their younger siblings.
We dropped one of the vans off at a carpool spot and I drove us to The
Cheesecake Factory, because you might as well make a date of it when car
accidents and doctor appointments have already ruined any potential for a
productive day anyway. And cheesecake
fixes everything. Well, OK, not
everything, but it's close. This is the
point where I must admit that I actually wasn't very hungry after the morning's
events, so I took my cheesecake to go.
It's still in the fridge. I might
eat it if everyone goes to bed at a decent hour. By myself.
Is eating cheesecake one of those things you're not supposed to do
alone? Just wondering.
Well, by this time it had occurred to me that Phil was
really in no shape to run errands by himself, so I ran his with him and thought
I'd get mine in, as well. Remember? That one errand I had to run. Let's be real. I was looking for the limited edition Star
Wars make-up, because I'm still trying to be the coolest mom in the galaxy...
and I wanted some for myself. Full
disclosure here, people. It took three
stores, but I finally found it. Grace
can look like she belongs to "the light side" and, frankly, you
should have already guessed that I bought the other stuff for me. I felt somehow proud when the cashier asked
if there was glitter in it. It's like
she knew that's what I stand for. Well,
at least there's that...
We stopped by Phil's parents' house and told them the story
of this day, because they really didn't need to read it here in rather
unorthodox blog form. And then we
stopped to get the kids pizza, because there's just no way I was cooking after
a day like today.
I got home at 6:45. I
never expected a coffee date to turn into 9 hours and 45 minutes away from
home. I pretty much ordered Phil to go
to bed. I was going to say that I'm not
usually that bossy, but I guess I am, because everyone I know seems to be
telling me that I have control issues lately.
He had better be sleeping. It's
only 8:00, and Miah is sawing logs as I write.
I'm pretty sure I have big kids waiting to watch TV with me. It's well deserved. And then maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to
get something accomplished for the two classes I'm taking.
I am so thankful, today, for God's protection. I am so thankful for responsible kids, and a
huge green van that doesn't work all the time but worked when I needed it
to. I am so thankful for Grace who
cleaned Miah's room and even sprayed it, because Miah said, "it 'stinked'". I am so thankful for Little Caesar's... that's
why we're keeping them in business. I am
so thankful for friends who pray. And I
am even so thankful for Star Wars make-up, because Grace has reaffirmed that I
really am the coolest mom ever.
It's been one of those days... and as I am so fond of saying... aren't they
all?
L.
