No Sense Crying Over No Sleep

Monday/Tuesday, November 14 & 15, 2011

It's been a tight season, financially speaking and I have had to keep putting off buying the "supplies" I needed for the upcoming long trip that Bobby and the kids would take when I would be left at home to paint the living room and bake ahead for Christmas. Finally, on Monday, the 14th, I saw an opportunity (my last one) to go to the store. I proposed to Bobby that after our company left Monday evening, I would pack the kids clothes, prepare their school lessons, cut coupons and prepare my grocery lists which would all cause me to go to bed very late and then rise as early as necessary to get to Wal Mart and Publix and be back home no later than 9:00 to get him to the airport by 10:00 so that he could pick up his rental car at the airport and they could be on their way to Oklahoma. He wasn't fond of the idea because he knows me and was afraid I would run late which would cause him to be late which meant he would have to choose from leftovers at the car rental place. I reminded him that I hadn't been able to get to the store before now because of not having the extra money and that there was no way I could go and get the things I needed once they left. I CAN push the wheelchair and pull Justis in the cart through Wal Mart but I can't get a cart-full of groceries at the same time. I'm not THAT good. He gave permission and after the company left Monday night, I dug in with packing clothes, preparing lessons, etc. I didn't get to bed until 3:45. Actually, I didn't go to bed. I kept my clothes on, my contacts in, my makeup on and laid on the recliner for an hour and a half. Rising at 5:15 I put my shoes on, made sure I had my wits about me and my purse before leaving the house and drove off in the dark of the night to Wal Mart.

I LOVE going to Wal Mart at that hour. I was the only customer. I was a dizzy, sleepy customer but I was alone with all the cleaning, straightening, organizing employees. On the way to the store I realized I wasn't going to be able to buy any paint as there wouldn't be anyone at the paint desk to mix it for me at that early hour.

"Oh well," I thought, "I'll get everything else I need and worry about the actual paint later."

I grabbed a biscuit at Hardees before driving to Publix which opens at 7:00. Again, I enjoyed being one of only a handful of customers as the store employees hustled and bustled around me saying "Good morning!" By the way, I spent $87.10 and saved over $62 after all the buy-one-get-one deals, other sales, and coupons! My cart was nearly full and I always compare to Wal Mart, thinking that if my cart looked like that at Wal Mart my bill would be well over $150. Ha! Which, I just realized, is what my spending plus my savings was at Publix!

It was raining so I was hurrying but trying to be careful and made it home by 9:00! I walked in damp, sleepy, and my arms loaded down with grocery sacks only to hear my husband say, "I think I'll just wait until tomorrow to leave."

I hung my head and all kinds of thoughts ran through my mind very quickly, like, "REALLY!?!" and, "Ha ha! For a minute there I thought you said you were going to wait until tomorrow to leave," and "What is WRONG with you?" and "That's a low blow!" and, "I can't believe you just said that!!!" Nah, I didn't even consider back-handing him like one friend asked me later. I hung my head down and didn't say anything for a second and then said, "I should have seen this coming." My husband changes his mind more than any woman I know.

Getting upset about the whole thing really wouldn't make much difference in his decision. I didn't blame him for not wanting to drive in the rain. They had time to leave at 4:00 the next morning and still make it to Moore, Oklahoma in time to sing.

And that's what they did. But you know, it was still raining. I had an uneasy or unsettled feeling when they left and let's just be real. Whenever you say goodbye to your family when they get in a car there's always the thought waaaay in the back of your mind that it could be the last time you see them. That thought was pushed aside and I prayed with faith for them as I laid back down to sleep after they left, knowing that staying awake and "thinking" about them would do no good.

Bobby called me at 7:20 to say they were still 30 miles EAST of Jackson sitting still on the Interstate and had been there since before 6:00! A cattle truck had turned over and there were dead cows everywhere! He said the first thing that happened was the trucks in front of him tapped their breaks, then slowed down. If he hadn't slowed down it could have been so much worse because he said about 10 cows came running toward him. He slammed on his brakes and swerved a few times missing them all. The trucks in front of him turned their flashers on and then finally everyone came to a complete stop.

We kept talking to each other over the next few hours and he watched as the arrival time on his GPS got later and later. He got in touch with the pastor from Highland Baptist Church and told him of his predicament.

By 9:30 I began to lose hope that they would make it to Moore in time to sing but at 9:45 Bobby called me and said they were moving again and he intended to stop only once and do some speeding. They did stop only the one time, 10 minutes to fuel up and use the bathroom. They made it to the church before 6:00 - plenty of time to set up and change clothes. The funny thing was Bobby, who normally showers before getting in the car, chose not to shower that morning - I think because he knew it was raining and he knew it would mess up his hair. So he had to wash his hair in the sink and put on a little extra cologne.

Like Bobby said, "It was only by the grace of God that (he) didn't hit one of those cows." God is faithful. Now...if Bobby would have just left when he had originally planned...then again...God might not have had the opportunity to show Himself like He did this way.