Why ... ???

Why, oh why ...

Did Papa and I ...

Drive 670 miles ...

Yesterday ???



A. It was a beautiful fall day for a Sunday drive.

B. We needed some alone time.

C. We hadn't had a good long conversation in awhile.

D. We wanted to go out to lunch with Cassie in Oregon,
(at the WORST Mexican Restaurant).

E. We wanted to go shopping with Cassie,
(so that Jim could buy shoes without paying sales tax).

F. We wanted to give a quick hug to the wife of our dear
friend who passed away a few days ago.

G. We wanted to attend the memorial service ...

that we had "heard" was to be held yesterday ...

that is actually planned for next week ...

H. All of the Above



Yes ... we drove 670 miles to attend a Memorial Service ... that didn't happen.

When we pulled into the Retreat Center where the service was to be held, there were no cars in sight. While we did arrive early, I knew that this was not a good sign. The service is expected to be quite large. Jim looked at me with one of "those looks" and said, "Are you SURE it is today?" "Yes. I read the website last night, and double checked it this morning before we left."

After our Saturday night company left at almost midnight, I had gone into the office to check my emails. I then realized that I hadn't checked the update blog for our friend Allan, to find out when the services were planned for. So, a quick check told me that the services were to be held at 3:00 the next day. Yikes! We would have to leave by 7:30 a.m., in order to make it. I hurried in to tell Jim before he fell asleep. I then sent off a quick email to Cassie, to see if she would like to join us (since it was only 120 mile drive each way for her). We got up at 6:30, checked the blog update again at 7:00 (to make SURE we had the right day and time), and we were on the road at 7:15.

After arriving at the retreat center, and using the restroom, Eunice (Allan's wife) found us. She had seen our car, and wondered who was in the Main Lodge. When she saw it was us, she immediately knew what had happened, and she felt HORRIBLE. (The update blog had the incorrect information. The mistake was caught at 7:30 am and immediately changed, but we were already on our way.) We smiled, and told her it was a nice day for a drive (which it was). Her son and daughter-in-law weren't around, as they had gone out to lunch with friends. So, we couldn't even visit with them. We gave Eunice a quick hug, jumped back in the car, and headed ... not towards home, but towards Cassie's ... we knew she was on the way and we decided we'd just drive to find her. (Yes, we all have cell phones, but there is no reception up in the mountains where we were.) Just a little ways down the road, Cassie came along and we flagged her over. I jumped into her car, and we headed 20 minutes to town for lunch. After a good visit (and a bad lunch), we decided to drive another 20 minutes to an outlet mall, where Papa could buy some shoes. Both of those short drives were headed back in the direction that we needed to go, but further away from Cassie's.

After a fun afternoon with our dear daughter, we headed north again, for another 6 hours of visiting.

The funniest thing ... when Jim drives long distance, I usually sleep for awhile (especially after a short night like Saturday night). But, since it turned out that our goal for the day was just to spend time with each other (NOT to attend the Memorial Service), I stayed awake the whole time so that we could make sure and talk about everything we needed to talk about.

Another funny ... while Jim and I usually trade off with the driving duties throughout the day, Jim was determined to drive the whole way since I have driven several thousand miles in the last few weeks without him. I volunteered to drive several times, but he declined my offer. Then, a little over an hour from home (after he'd driven almost 600 miles) he finally relinquished the wheel.

We, seriously, did have a good day. While we were very disappointed that we couldn't attend the service, we enjoyed our unexpected chat time together, and we always enjoy our Cassie Time. The biggest disappointment is that we will NOT be able to attend the service next week. We would have attended if we hadn't driven down yesterday. So, we are very sad that we will not be able to join the family next Sunday, and that we will not be able to see the MANY friends that we were looking forward to seeing. Sad! The main reason that we will not be able to drive down next Sunday, is that we will be driving down there with the family just 2 days later, to spend Thanksgiving at the retreat center. So, on Sunday, we will be getting ready for Tuesday's trip.

While we usually go to Oregon 2-3 times per year ... when we go for Thanksgiving that will be my 3rd time in a month. (Remember ... I just went down to move Miss Heidi to Washington.) Crazy!

Knowing that I've driven an inordinate amount of miles recently, I just did some calculations. Since October 11th (just 5 weeks) I have driven over 3100 miles in 7 one-day trips. And, this was the first trip that Jim has joined me on. So, I have driven over 2,500 miles of it myself (with children) ... and, I have not been at home all of those days to spend time with my husband. (With 7 one-day trips, I have actually been gone for one week of the five weeks. Weird!) Therefore, this trip was extra special.

Guess this is one more answer to my questions, "What have I been doing with my life? Why do I feel like I haven't accomplished anything?"