A 'Quick' Trip

We were in the car Saturday, wending our way to our son's home 80 miles away. My daughter called my cell phone, and as usual, said "Where are you?" I replied that we were sitting in a huge parking lot otherwise known as Route 40 West.

Last year, road crews supposedly finished the last 20 miles or so of re-paving and additional lanes to a stretch of Route 40 that reaches from the Raleigh-Durham airport to beyond Chapel Hill. Commuters everywhere cheered and looked forward to shorter drive times, and their joy was cut short almost immediately by the announcement that the just laid pavement was chipping and buckling because the wrong materials were used. Millions of dollars had gone up in smoke right before our very eyes. Then the redo began. Mr. kenju and I don't travel that area often, so we are unfamiliar with the new traffic patterns. Four and five lanes narrow to three, then two and eventually one. For at least 10-15 miles, there is only ONE lane open to do the work of four. Can you imagine the back-up? It took us 3 and one-half hours to make the trip that usually is completed in 75 minutes.

We might have chucked it all and gone back home, but we were delivering a small granddaughter (who had been with us for 3 days) to her cousin's home for a visit. Her parents are celebrating 3 years of marriage and my daughter's birthday, and will be away for 3-4 days. As much as I love that little girl, I was determined to leave her with her cousins! Having been under the weather for a week, I was exhausted by her very presence. So, we persevered, arriving later than we'd planned, tired and hungry.

I had no more than entered the door, when the clarion call came and I had to rush to the bathroom. I thought that my illness of the previous 8 days had abated, but nooooooooooo, it had roared back full force. I will not bore you nor embarrass myself further with the icky details, but suffice it to say I spent the better part of the next 2 hours in my daughter-in-law's bathroom. She was kind enough to prepare a pan of plain, white rice for me, in addition to the nice dinner she made for the family. After a while, my stomach settled down and I was able to sleep well.

Sunday, I didn't want to brave going to their swim club with them, so I stayed on the couch with the TV remote, a blanket and two chihuahuas to keep me company. Eventually, we drove back home, and luckily, the eastbound traffic was fast moving. We arrived without incident and were welcomed by two kitties who didn't know whether to act happy to see us - or be mad because we had left them alone for a night!

Edit: I have a story at Ronni's site today as well. See it here:

http://ronnibennett.typepad.com/elderstorytelling/2007/07/old-friends-cam.html

On a lighter note (pun intended) the scale shows I have lost seven pounds! There's a silver lining to every cloud - it you will but look for it!!