Ok, ready?
Long Car Rides: Padgett Style:
(I wrote this first part while we were on the road heading TO Michigan, thought I’d just include it here :-)
On the road, somewhere in Pennsylvania. 12:30 pm:
We started this morning at 7:00 (after I took a quick trip at 6:30 to the library to drop off that book I’d been meaning to bring back) and after Ben gave Dad the “talk” (“now Dad, when you get up tomorrow morning, I’m not going to be here, so just make sure to be good, follow all the rules…” etc.) Followed by Dad giving us the “talk” (“ok, kids, be sure to listen to Mom, don’t be too loud in the car, and don’t be obnoxious. Even though that is impossible for you Ben” (those were his exact words!)) And we were off!
We drove for a while in silence. The boys watching their movies, Mom and I listening to Odysseys in the front, and Emmy doing who knows what in the back. But, as life would have it, silence cant last. Around the time we started hitting the tunnels in Pennsylvania the movies had been turned off and the boys were restless. Then, Nick saw the signs just before the tunnels ordering to “Take Sunglasses Off”. “Quick!!” Nick yelled to me, “give me some sunglasses so I can take them off!” I passed back the pair Dad kept in the van, but as soon as they were on his face, Nick leans back and declares, “Look at me! I’m breaking the law!” of course this prompted Benj to send Emmy scrambling for her sunglasses so that he could wear them and join his brother in crime. They started singing some song about living the life of a criminal, and whenever we’d approach a new tunnel one slid the sunglasses. They even were so daring as to wave at a police car parked at the entrance of one tunnel, daring him to arrest these fearless lawbreakers!
Monday: Arrive | Boy Scouts | Meijer | Friends
The family minus Dad arrives in good ol’ Detroit area (sorry friends, please know that I fully understand that we were not literally in the city of Detroit, but that is what we have come to call all of lower east Michigan, for the sake of foreigners you know). We were staying with my Grandma Padgett (Dads mom) and her husband Gary. No sooner had we unloaded the car though, and we were hopping back on the road to get the boy scout meeting that night.
It was great to see all those boys, all grown up! (it’s really crazy how fast boys can grow in just a year!) I was proud of them, as most of them were willing to hug us girls without a fight. :-)
We left the boys there, to spend the night with the VanDykes, while Mom, Emmy and I headed out for a Meijer run. May I just tell you who have not been blessed with the wonders of Meijer stores, I am sorry. Just walking into the store around the corner from our old house was a breath of fresh air! So clean and familiar!
After we’d stocked up on things we cant seem to find in Maryland, we headed out to see a dear family. This was a family I babysat for several years. They have three kids, Sarah (16) David (15) and Lily (12?). Sarah and Lily are sisters the family adopted, and it’s very much because of this family and them sharing their story with me that has led me to have a heart for adoption and foster care (both Lily and Sarah, as well as their brother Patrick who is in the boy scout troop were all in foster care before they were adopted into these families). So it was wonderful to be able to spend the evening with them. Sarah, who is a special needs child, and just beautiful, showed off her tricks in the pool, and Lily and David filled me in on all that has gone on in the past year. I was being pulled three different ways trying to see everything, and I loved it!
After saying goodbye to everyone (and Mom and Emmy finally talked me out of there after I ignored them several times :-) we headed back to Grandma’.
Tuesday: Frisbee | Pizza and Water | Tim Hortins
First thing in the morning us kids headed over to the field behind Clinton Macomb Library, our old Frisbee spot, and were joined by sixteen of our friends to play a good game of Ultimate! I hadn’t played Frisbee in a good year, so I was excited. Our first game we tried girls vs. boys, but we girls underestimated our “little” brothers. In the past we would grudgingly let the boys play with us, even though they’d usually only get in the way, but now they are tall, and fast and accurate!
It was HOT and humid out, and soon it was lunchtime and we were out of water. So we made a snap decision to grab a few pizzas from Little Ceasar’s. So Jessie, Heather G. and I hopped in the car and made the quick trip while the rest of the kids laid out in the field waiting.
Danielle had brought a big jug with water, which had soon run out in the heat, so when we got to the pizza place, Heather and I brought the jug in with us to see if they would help us out. (I was curious to see what they did if we asked them for water.)
After ordering our three Hot ‘N Ready’s, I put the jug on the counter and told the guy “there's a bunch of us out playing Frisbee in a hot field and we are dying of dehydration. So I was wondering if you would do us a favor and just run this under a sink?”
He said, “uh, sure, I can do that.” And he took the jug back while we waited. Another guy saw us standing there with our pizzas and he asked if we needed anything. I told him we were just waiting for some water, just as our man came back up with our jug. As he passed the confused guy he shrugged and said, “I thought I’d be nice.”
I thanked him, informing him he was a life saver, and we took our pizzas and water and headed back to the field…where all the young teenage boys inhaled the pizzas in seconds!
We played a few more games then headed home to Grandmas to sleep.
Later, I went out to Tim Hortins coffee shop (again, if you don’t have them, your life is lacking) where my church’s college and career group usually meets. Unfortunately half the group was out of town, and most of the rest had other commitments, but Jon was there, so we hung out and talked till way too late and had a great time catching up (and enjoying wonderful iced capps!)
Wednesday: Grand Rapids | Abigail
We all piled back into the van and drove the three hours (which seemed surprisingly fast compared to the ten it took from MD to MI) to Grand Rapids, where we stayed with my Grandma LeRoux (Mom’s mom). That afternoon Emmy and I went to Woodland mall to meet the one and only Abigail at the food court. We spent a great time chatting, catching up, and talking about what the summer will hold.
Thursday: Cornerstone
Mom and I headed out to Cornerstone University, which is roughly a half hour from Grandma’s house. I’ve been accepted at CU, but I’m prayerfully waiting for God to make it clear if that’s where He wants me this fall (considering the whole money issue is still a problem). But, if I’ve learned anything this past year, it’s to move and wait for God to whisper in my ear whether to turn to the right or the left. So I moved by going to CU to tour and talk to a counselor there.
I really loved the campus, and the community seems to be just what I would love and what I crave. However, I still haven’t seen any billboards in the sky telling me what to do, but I LOVED the campus and am praying that God provides.
Lessons in trust, I’ll tell ya, they’re crazy!
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