How Our Trip Began

Whew! What a trip! For the first time EVER, we didn't make it all the way to Ohio in one trip. My dad was too tired to keep driving and we stopped overnight in Frostburg, Maryland. And what a crazy adventure that was. After unloading our well packed van and dragging suitcases, pillows, cosmetic bags, kids, and a pack-n-play up to the second floor, we started the bedtime routine. PJs, bathroom breaks, teeth brushing, diaper changes, etc. As Brenna hurried out of the bathroom, she somehow pulled the door over her big toe, where it got stuck. I couldn't budge the door either way, without yanking it and taking some skin along. She screamed. It was 11:45. We were in a hotel. And once she started screaming in pain (and I have no doubt it hurt really, really bad!) Daniel felt the need to join her in sympathy.

So here we were, so tired, in a hotel room at 11:45 at night, two screaming children, three very tired adults, and the cell phone rang. It was Michael.

He had an urgent prayer request for a relational situation unfolding back home. I had no choice but to ask if I could call him back in the morning. I briefed him on our last 15 minutes, promised I wasn't being unsympathetic, and hung up. I felt so bad.

Mom managed to get Brenna calmed down with a wet washcloth wrapped around her toe to ease the stinging. As soon as she settled we turned out the lights and laid Daniel down. He screamed some more, but seemed to be moaning himself to sleep.

And that's when I knew I wasn't going to get much sleep. Across the room, I began to hear the soft beginnings of a very tired Dad snoring. Then a tickle formed in my throat and no matter how hard I fought it, in the end, I had to cough.

You guessed it. I coughed. Daniel screamed. And Brenna said, "Mommy, you woke up Daniel!"

Slowly, he worked himself back to sleep as the air conditioner turned on and off abruptly every few minutes. Unfortunately, I did not sleep. I heard baby noises. I heard snoring. (lots of snoring) I rolled over. I kicked blankets off. I pulled blankets on. I listened to the child in the hallway being shushed by a parent. At some point, I figured it had to be getting close to morning, so when the AC turned on again, I sat up and squinted hard to see the clock.

3:14 - You have got to be kidding me.

Somewhere around 4 I finally fell asleep. We got up about 7 and had breakfast. I think we left the hotel about 8:30. We pulled into Nana's driveway at 12:30. I desperately wanted to go to sleep, but, as it turned out, it was 1:30 AM before my head found the pillow again. And that's how our trip began.....