A Few "Bumps" in the Road Trip

Lately I have been thinking a lot about an experience that I had some years ago when my nephew was leaving for a 2 year service mission for my church.  We knew that this day was coming and because of that we had planned a lengthy and fun trip to Canada.  My husband had gotten the time off approved months in advance and we were ready to go.  We were so excited for many reasons, family time, coming back to my home town, and just getting away.

Shortly before this anticipated trip my husband’s previous employer pulled the rug out from under us and told him that this was a “must win month” and that he couldn't go.  What the what!?!!  Our kids were so excited; how do we tell them about a week before that plans had changed?!?  So it was decided… I would take the 4 kids by myself.  That is 18 hours of road… with no out option.

My husband, feeling sad and worried about not coming, took the car to the mechanic because it had been having problems.  He stressed to the Mechanic that his wife was driving by herself with all the kids and that this needed to be done right so she wouldn't be stranded who knows where.  The owner of the shop assured him that he would look it over thoroughly.  So the next day I was off on our big adventure.

About 1 hour into the drive the weather stripping of our recently replaced windshield had come loose and was flapping in the wind.  I would pull over about every 15-30 mins and push it back on just do it again.  Finally I decided to find a store and buy some black duct tape to keep things together.  It seemed to be working even though this whole thing probably put us an hour behind; but we were off again on our big adventure.

As we approached the boarder I quickly realized that we were running low on gas.  Gas stations in this area are spread pretty far apart and I had forgotten this.  Gas was running so low that I was starting to worry that we were running on fumes.  I noticed that ahead of us that clouds were starting to look pretty bad and that a heavy storm was brewing.  It was so bad that cars were starting to pull over to the side of the road because the storm looked too dangerous.  I started to wonder if we should pull over… if we did I ran the risk of our car not starting again and that could be bad.  So I told the kids, “time to say a small prayer because we are driving through that storm ahead and we are running low on gas”.  The kids didn't even question me.  I looked in the rear view mirror to see all 4 heads bowed and arms folded as the proceeded to quietly pray… I too, as I was keeping my eyes on the road said a little prayer.  The storm was bad!  I have NEVER experienced a storm like that but we pressed forward.

Finally I saw a sign that told me that the town of Lethbridge wasn't far off.  We had made it!!!  I hollered out to the kids and we celebrating as we rolled into the gas station.  I still feel to this day that rolling in is no exaggeration.  We had NO more gas in the tank, and NO more fumes to burn.  I was floating with happiness as I filled up the car and climbed back in to get on the road again.  The kids smiles in the back were so huge.  As I turned the key to get on the road nothing happened and I mean NOTHING!  The car didn't do anything but make a clicking noise.  What was I going to do?!?  I didn't know anything about cars!  I called Scott to cry and get him to save me but what was he supposed to do??  He was forever away and he was just as helpless as me.  As I talked with him and he tried to help as best he could I had a thought to pop the hood up… maybe by some miracle I will all of a sudden become a mechanic… Ya right!  Once that hood was up I could tell that something wasn't attached like it should be.  In talking to Scott I figured out that it was the wire to the battery.  He told me to go into the gas station and ask if they had any electrical tape.  I wiped my eyes and got myself as together as I could and walked in.  I asked the cashier and she told me that they didn't sell it but that she thought there was some in a junk drawer that they had.  She looked and discovered she was wrong.  As she told me I felt the tears starting to brim and I had to get out of there fast.  I said thank you and left quickly (she must have thought I was a bit crazy or something).

I got in the car and caved over the wheel and started bawling to Scott on the phone.  The kids were silent in the back, unsure of what to do.  This wasn't good and we all knew it.  I decided to just start walking.  I had no idea where I was walking to but I was sure something would be there.  The street ahead was full of residential homes and all stores that I had seen were closed by this point.  As I started walking I saw the Southside Fire Station.  Firemen were trained to save damsels in distress!!!  I think that the individuals were caught off guard to see a red faced, puffy eyed lady knocking at their door but they unlocked it anyway.  I gave a brief description of my situation and one of the firemen stood up and said, “I can help you out.  I enjoy cars.  I don’t have electrical tape but I do have surgical tape.  It’s not a permanent fix but it will help get you to where you need to be.  Let me grab my tools and get things fixed for you.”  I couldn't adequately express my gratitude enough for his kindness.  He did exactly what he promised and we were on our way again.

We had 3 hours of driving to go and it was close to 9 pm.  I was spent but we had to press on because my sister was waiting for us in Calgary.  Very quietly one of the kids expressed their hunger… what comes next is not what you would call a good mom moment… “We are not stopping!” I said.  “Your Aunt is expecting us and waiting to feed us so we are going to her house!”  As I looked at the time and realized how stupid I was being, I quickly went into suck up mode… “You know when I was a kids one of my favorite places to go was Tim Hortons.  We loved to get their Timbits.  Oh look kids there’s one right there!  Let’s stop and get some!” I continued to talk about all their great food and the peach drink.  We drove through the drive through and I ordered all of the goodness I could think of.  When we got to the window I had become the fun mom again and passed my debit card to the nice lady with a smile.

“Oh we don’t take debit.” She said. 

Seriously!?!  You've got to be kidding me!!  “Oh that’s okay.  I have a credit card.” I said with a forced smile. 

“Oh good!” She replied.  And I passed her my card just in time for her to say, “All of them except Visa.”  I felt as though I had just stepped into the twilight zone.  All of them except Visa!?!  Who doesn't except Visa?!? 

As I sat there trying to control the tears from starting up again I said, “No worries.  I’ll go over to that gas station and get some cash out of the ATM.”

She pause a moment and said, “You know we are about to close and these are just going to end up in the trash, so just take them.”

“Are you serious?!?” I said.  She assured me she was and basically pushed the box into my car.  I was now fighting back the tears, not because I was at breaking point but because I was so grateful.  “Thank you so much.” Was all I could get out before the tears erupted down my face.  She had to think I was crazy for crying over donuts but I didn't care.  I had the craziest journey up until this point and this saved our entire trip. 

As we drove the next day I found out that the storm we drove through was a tornado!  Yes we did… We probably missed it because we kept driving but it was.  Now you might be thinking that I am over exaggerating this journey but I assure you that I am not!  You can ask my kids and they will agree, it was one crazy ride.

So why have I been thinking about this lately?  Well we all have a journey that we are on… some smooth and some with bigger “bumps in the road”.  No matter what kind of bumps we may have it can be difficult at times.  Some struggles are more noticeable than others, while some are quieter and less obvious, but just as difficult.  

I ask my kids often if they have passed out any "free donuts" today.  This has personal meaning to each of us because of our trip.  The lady at Tim Hortons had no idea what we had been through.  She had no idea what a difference this simple act had on me and my kids, but it changed our trip for the better.  We all have opportunities to pass out free donuts; I just hope we open our eyes see them because “the worth of souls is great in the sight of God” (D&C 18:10).