Road Trip

After my husband Paul lost his vision it was my turn to do the driving. That was a difficult time for him. Not only was was he no longer in control, not only was the less experienced driver now in charge, but he couldn't even see where I was taking him. In earlier times he almost always did the driving, while I rode herd on the kids. Not being a detail person in the first place, I paid scant attention to how we got to places. I just climbed into the car and he took us there. Once I started driving, I was pretty dependent on him telling me where to go.  He still reads most of the maps on our trips (with a magnifying glass, of course.) We call it the blind leading the vague.

One time we left our son's home in Rochester, MN heading for another son's home in Winona, MN. It wasn't until about 40 miles later, when I began to read the town names out loud, that Paul informed me we were going in the wrong direction. (It was on that same trip that we stopped to eat at a Burger King. I hopped out of the car to use the bathroom, and figurered he could find his own way in. After waiting a fair amout of time I became  alarmed when he failed to appear. Had he gotten hit by a car in the parking lot or something? As I was coming out the door to check I saw him trudging across the parking area from the Taco John's that shared the lot. He said that when he finally got a good look at the menu above the counter he expressed surprised that Burger King had added tacos. The manager helped straighten him out.

Several of my sisters have directional issues as well. Once when they were driving nearing Lansing, MI my sister, Martha, offered to take over the driving for her very sleepy husband, Paul. (Yes, another Paul. My  sister, Paula, had one brother-in-law on her husband's side who was also named Paul. Thus, her two daughters had only three uncles, and they were all named Uncle Paul!)  Anyway, Paul and Martha pulled into a gas station so they could change drivers, and let Paul get a little shut-eye. Martha moved them on nicely, except that when Paul woke up about an hour later they were passing that same gas station. Martha had driven them in a neat loop around the whole city of Lansing, and they were right back where they started.

My sister, Liz, too, was giving her husband, Tony, a well needed rest one time. I don't know where they were headed, but when he woke up they were in Peoria, IL. I don't think they had planned to go anywhere near that fair city.

Our children are getting a little nervous. The two of us are driving out to California next week. Those silly kids. What could go wrong?

Katherine

"For he will command  his angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."      Psalm 91:11,12. (NIV)