In case my last post sounded too idyllic, I'm countering it today with a slightly less positive sentiment:Dread.
Or is that too strong?
How about apprehension? Trepidation?
We are about to spend 13 hours in a van tomorrow.
A five-minute drive home from church generally involves some version of the following:
- Jonathan yelling when we slow down.
- Jonathan yelling when we change lanes.
- Jonathan yelling when we turn left instead of right (just because of construction or a last-minute errand).
- Me telling Jonathan to stop it.
- Allison attempting to peace-make by saying things like "It's OK, Jonathan, everything's fine" and "Everybody's happy, right? I just want everybody to be happy."
- Jonathan screaming when we back the car into the driveway.
- Me telling him to stop it.
- Allison .... well, you get the idea.
So that's a typical five-minute drive; therefore we have 156 of those increments to look forward to tomorrow.
Yes, sometimes you really want to know what a person's communicating by his or her behaviour. But sometimes you really just want all forms of communication to cease long enough that you can breathe and look out the window.
Oh well, as the Chinese proverb says, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Or a journey of 13 hours begins with one five-minute interval.
Are we there yet?
Oh dear, Jeannie, that does sound like something to dread!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you've tried many things over the years, but I'm wondering about sunglasses, especially the ones with covered sides - the theory being to cut down on the things his brain has to process, rather like horses wearing blinders. Just a thought.
I will hold you in my prayers all day tomorrow - what time do you leave? "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being." Eph. 3:16 "May the God of peace, who ... brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus ... equip you with everything good for doing his will" Hebrews 13:20, 21 Love in Christ, Maureen
Thanks for your thoughts & prayers, Maureen! Our plan is to leave at 7 a.m. and reach Fredericton by about 9 p.m. local time.
DeleteActually I'm pretty sure Jonathan would refuse to wear the sunglasses. :-( We'll just try to keep him entertained with music CD's; we have a portable DVD player but he can't operate it himself so that would just be a hassle. Don't worry, we will make it work! He's becoming familiar with how this whole process goes, too -- LONG drive to motel, then sleep there in the big bed, then have breakfast in the dining room, then drive again to see Grandma & Grandpa ...
Thanks again and hope to see you at the end of August.
I'm chiming in late here. (We were out of town last week and I'm still getting caught up on things.) So, how'd it go?
ReplyDeleteWell, Adriana, all things considered it went well. Jonathan still made comments every five seconds but it was bearable. We bore it, anyway! Thanks for asking!
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