Life As A Farm Wife: Road trips aren’t quite what they used to be…

It was almost 7 years ago (at the end of a Redberry Bible Camp summer camping season) that Sarah Jane and I packed up my old ’86 Honda Accord and drove south; WAY south, to Florida. It was the perfect way to end a summer that had been full of highs and lows, triumphs and frustrations. We had “won” a couple nights stay in Daytona Beach and Orlando Florida. When I say, “won” I mean, we pressed the button online that told us we were the millionth visitor to a site and were entitled to a big prize. Of course, it was a timeshare scam, but we got to stay in some sweet hotels for cheap and we only had to sit through a short timeshare schpeel one morning.

We drove long days. I know for sure we pulled at least one 16 hour driving day. We loved it. It was so much fun as we drove with our windows down, the music loud, and our worries at our back. It was a really great trip and, praise the Lord, we had no breakdowns or issues as we put 10,000 km on my car in less than 2 weeks. We even had the experience of leaving Florida as it was being evacuated for Hurricane Katrina.

Jane and I were great road-trip buddies and I know that we will cherish our memories of that trip, the drive and our time in Florida, forever.

Now, seven years later, life is a little bit different. We have both been blessed to find and marry amazing men, and now, we are both mommies. It is an incredible time in our lives as we plunge through our newly acquired roles as parents, but sometimes we can still get the “itch” to hit the open road…

This week on Wednesday, Jane, Olivia, Jett and I headed out on the road… to Candle Lake. It may not be as far as Florida, but it’s amazing how long a few short hours can feel when you have to babes that are egging each other on in their shrieks and crying! Jett is going through this faze where he loves to scream in this high-pitched squeal when he’s happy, mad, frustrated, and even hungry. It’s so awesome I want to rip my own hair out. Olivia wasn’t prepared for Jett’s shrill tones and I really can understand why.

When we got to Candle Lake, it was raining and it continued to rain ALL DAY & NIGHT! It maybe stopped for 10 minutes at a time a few times during the day, but it was REALLY wet. Jane and I like to think we’re still pretty hardcore, so we still went for a walk in the rain, and I actually even let Jett go into the lake a little bit. Don’t judge me too harshly. It wasn’t cold and there were other kids in the water. He also wears a long sleeved swim shirt and board shorts that almost reach his ankles. I had to let him have a little fun. The space inside our trailer and covered deck is not big enough for my independent little playing machine and it was exhausting to continually have to squash his escape efforts. Olivia, for the record, was a trooper. She is such a sweet baby girl!

We made dinner on the BBQ (yes, it was still raining) and then we watched the clock move painfully slowly towards bedtime for our cooped up babes. To get out of the trailer, we went for a drive with the kidlets and even got some ice cream from the nearby ice cream stand called, Quincy’s Corner. Needless to say, there was no long line to wait in, and yet I still got soaked as I placed our order. Ice cream still tastes the same though, rain or shine it still pleases the palate.

Jett and Olivia went down for bed really well and Jane and I were very pleased. We curled up and watched a couple of subpar romantic comedies, which was fun in spite of the terribly cliché plots.

We were nearly though the second movie when the unthinkable happened. My usually good sleeper woke up!!! Shrieking, of course! I don’t know WHY he woke up, but I do know that we ended up having the worst sleep (or LACK of sleep) that we’ve had in at least 6 months. I have been fighting a cold and as I spent HOURS rubbing my little angel’s back to keep him calm and quiet so that he wouldn’t wake Olivia, I struggled with the strong urge I had to just keel over. You know when your body really wants to cough, but it’s a really inopportune time so you just try to quietly will the cough away??? Yeah, I HATE that feeling.

Jett had awoke at around 11:30, and it was at least 2am before he and I could successfully enter slumberland. I did eventually let him cry through it for a bit, and Olivia slept through it all like a champ. At 5:45am, Jett was up again and ready for the day. It was STILL raining.

Jane and Olivia emerged sometime after six and it was then that we decided our hardcore-ness only goes so far. We ate breakfast, packed up, and headed out by 8 in the morning. It was annoying that it continually got brighter and sunnier as we drove away from the lake. I guess we just picked the wrong day to go to the lake, but since when has the weather network been right about the forecast?

The kiddos slept for the first leg of our journey home, and Jane and I enjoy visiting and laughing together in spite of our less than ideal outing. When Jett woke up, I think I must have sang, “I know an old lady who swallowed a fly…” at least a dozen times. He has a favorite book of that song and it is one of the few weapons I have to combat his shrieks. He loves it. Me??? Well, I love the EFFECT of it.

We made it home safe and sound, surprising our husbands with how early we were back from our “retreat”. I am glad we went, even if it was challenging and not as relaxing as we would have liked. Jane and I laughed about how different our lives have become. We may not be as well rested, relaxed, tanned or carefree as we once were, but life is good. We are blessed. I am so thankful to have such a good friend.