Tag: joy

Trip Log 2.1


No, I don’t alway pack light.

This is my stack of luggage for our current trip: large suitcase, book bag full of study materials for my Spring Study Program, hanging bag with more formal clothes, large total with most of my cycling gear (lots of layers for warm through very cold weather) , small tote with my other cycling gear (shoes, gloves, & helmet), and a box of my books to give away on the trip. This trip will be more than a month long! I need lots of stuff.

By popular demand, here is the first Trip Log.

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Friday, April 22. Terre Haute, Indiana. 

Our adventure a couple of weeks ago convinced my husband – and the other guys at the company who help with these decisions – that he needed a bigger vehicle to pull the trailer.

After spending the weekend shopping for trucks and getting quotes, Ron finally decided on a GMC 3/4 ton, crew cab, 4X4, diesel truck. He bought a used camper shell so we can safely transport our bikes and luggage in the bed of the truck. (OK, so the luggage could have fit inside the truck, but we have to keep our bikes safe! The guys at the factory reconfigured the equipment inside the trailer so the weight is properly distributed. This rig should safely get us where we need to go!

The pipe on the side of the trailer is an exhaust pipe for a generator.

Packing and preparing took most of the day Thursday. We drove a few hours, stopped for night and drove all day Friday.

I love traveling this time of year! Wild flowers everywhere. Bright green new growth sprouting on the trees. Baby animals in the fields. Ponds full and waiting for little boys and their granddads to come fishing. And our silly sense of humor.

Here are a couple of quotes from Friday:

While discussing my normally low blood pressure (106/65), Ron said, “You don’t get high blood pressure. You are a carrier.”

“Just passed Uranus Fudge Factory. There are too many jokes that sign brings to mind. If our boys were in the car, we’d be hearing them all. Like: I do not want any fudge from…”

We stopped briefly in Illinois….to get a new mug, of course! Then we drove on to Terre Haute, Indiana, to spend the night.

Illinois You Are Here Mug

 

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Saturday, April 23. 7:30 am Terre Haute 

At eleven pm last night, my man was worn out after ten hours of driving and didn’t even want to talk about plans for tomorrow. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep.

Then at 7:00 am, when I am comfortably sleeping under heavy quilts with the A/C on very cold, he jumps out of bed ready to face the day.

He actually wants me to put my warm feet out from under the covers and into my biking shoes.

“The National Road Heritage Trail is just two miles away! We can ride to the area near campus for breakfast then ride twenty miles!” He says cheerfully. “I’ll get our bike stuff! It’ll be fun!” he sings as he skips out the hotel room door.

I turned over and put my head under my pillow, hoping our biking gear was stolen during the night.

I hate him. I hate mornings.

Saturday, 10:00 pm Lansing, Michigan

I’ll admit it: Ron was right. It was a beautiful morning for a bike ride.  Quite chilly, but we have good riding gear and lots of layers. We rode twenty miles, came back to shower and change at the hotel, checked out, then walked across the street to a local diner for lunch.

It was obvious during the bike ride that we are not natives. We were each wearing a base layer, warm vest, and windbreaker with our thick tights and wool socks. We saw natives in shorts & sports bras running on the trail. 50 degrees is warm to them! I was chilly at first and comfortable by the time we’d ridden a few miles

 

Riding in Indiana. April 2016




After lunch, we drove a few hours to Lansing, Michigan, where we had dinner at a local Mediterranean restaurant with our son Adam.

It’s been a great day.

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Sunday, April 24 Kalamazoo, Michigan 

Usually on Sundays we go to church, even when traveling. Today, however, I slept in and Ron joined Adam for an early breakfast and a men’s group meeting. Dad and son time is rare when your son lives a thousand miles away.

Adam is a gymnastics coach. World champions have come from the gym where he coaches. His boss was the coach for the US Olympic team in London. Adam works with mostly younger girls. They have the state meet next weekend, so he had a few kids that wanted private lessons this weekend. One lesson ended around noon today.

After the lesson, we went to lunch and then road bikes. We rode about seventeen miles from the zoo to Michigan State to downtown Lansing and back. The weather was lovely. It was a great day for a ride with my son and husband. We had a delicious after-ride dinner then said goodbye to Adam before driving to Kalamazoo.

 

Work starts tomorrow, for Ron anyway. Appointments here in Kalamazoo tomorrow and Grand Rapids on Tuesday. The company will have booth set up Wednesday and Thursday at the Michigan School Business Officials Expo, and Ron will be manning it. We should have everything loaded by late afternoon Thursday.

Then we head to Staten Island to spend the weekend in NYC…if all goes according to plan. Somehow, I think we may have a surprise or two along the way. We usually do. I’ll write about them so you can all laugh at or with us.

 

Joy

For ten days in May, I will be participating in the Spring Study Program at Precept Ministries in Chattanooga. We will be studying the book of James. This will be an intense study: ten weeks worth of classes in ten days. To prepare, I am doing lots of homework.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

James 1:2-4 | NIV


Over the years, I have meditated on this passage many times. I memorized most of James and often think about it when I’m mowing or driving. 

When The Accident happened, I did not consider it joy! There is nothing to be joyful about in losing a child! Yet, looking back over these past two years, I see that my faith has been tested, and I have persevered. I have matured in my theology. I have grown in many ways. And I am glad of that. 

I chose healing in my grief. I chose gratitude in my pain. And I even found times when I could choose to be joyful in the midst of my sorrow. None of it was easy; it was a struggle. It still is at times. But as I persevered, the grief became more manageable, the pain easier to bear, and joy more frequent. 

Farther down in the chapter, James tell us that we who persevere will be blessed.

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

James 1:12 | NIV

Yes, I will be blessed when I receive my crown of life, but I have blessed here on earth because I persevere. I did not give in to despair, and slowly my broken heart healed. Ron and I are closer than we ever were before. My faith has grown. I’ve made wonderful new friends through our shared loss. 

My life is good, despite the trials I have faced. And, yes, I have joy.

This graphics explains how I feel about the trials I gave been through.

  

Hope

Today I am sharing a post about hope. It is not mine. But it could be my story…or yours. Under Reconstruction is an amazing and encouraging blog. You might want to follow it. I do.

Karen writes honestly about her battle with depression in a way that gives hope to all of us who have struggled with it. And hope is the subject of an article she published earlier this week. You should read it. All of it.

Here is just a taste of what she says:

Hope, as it turns out, is as misunderstood as love. Like love, hope isn’t an emotion. In fact, hope doesn’t have to feel good in the least. Like love, hope is a choice and a commitment. A commitment to what? A commitment to keep choosing the path of life — in spite of feeling hopeless…

Perhaps it all boils down to putting aside your pride. We despair because we are unable to accept ourselves and our lives, or we believe the world cannot accept us, or both. It’s not an easy decision to make, but when we choose radical acceptance, magic happens. Slowly but surely, I started experiencing improvements in my mood. The more I put myself out there in spite of the forces threatening to engulf me, the more the clouds began to clear. My thoughts became more realistic, my emotions more stable, and my social anxiety markedly reduced. I became less inward-focused and could start loving and caring for other people again. At the very core of it, I came to recognize the inherent good of being alive once more…[ Read More ]

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Coffee Mug

Back in the early nineties, we met an OU Law professor. A sweet young thing (as in mid twenties. Yes, she was teaching law at age 24) from Nigeria.

We moved to Tennessee a year later and she went on to teach at Harvard Law. Many years later she taught at Minnesota Law.

While at Harvard Law, she would fly into Bristol, Tennessee, where we lived, to watch the kids for us, so Ron and I could get away. She was single and loved us. She knew that married couples need time together. And she loved our kids. The kids were all invited to her wedding.

Ruth even came in a couple of days after Andrew was born to help me with the new baby since it was Christmas break and between semesters. She stayed for almost two weeks. We all loved having her around.

My kids still refer to her as “Ruth the Babysitter” not caring that she is a world renowned expert in intellectual property rights and literally wrote the textbook on the subject. But to my kids, she will always be “The Babysitter”, which they say with love and fond memories.

Margaret Ruth, our youngest, got her middle name in part from this crazy, godly Nigerian woman. 

Today Ron got a package from Ruth. She is back at Harvard as a visiting professor, specializing in patent law. When he opened the package he said, “Well, I’ve never gotten a letter from Harvard Law before.” As if that would be a normal thing one should get in his lifetime!

The package contained a Starbucks Mug from Switzerland!

Ruth had gotten it for him on her last trip to Europe. Such a sweet gift!

There are advantages to knowing a woman who helps third-world countries write their laws and travels the world to do it.

Normally, we only get You Are Here mugs from places we have gone ourselves. But now Ron says he will accept gifts of mugs from sweet friends who go to countries to which there is no way we will drive.

The gift of a coffee mug from a Harvard Law professor, godly woman, and dear friend is a priceless gift indeed.

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Switzerland You Are Here Mug
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The mug came with a handwritten note on Harvard Law letterhead.

Good Morning

Last night I posted my Photo 101 assignment. It wasn’t fun or happy. But it was where my head was. This morning, I want to assure you that my head is not always in that place.

My life is full of joy! I don’t sit around my house grieving or thinking about grief. 

If you read about my Travels (find them in the category cloud at the side bar) you will see that we have adventures and fun. Or check out our cycling adventures!

Or let me tell you about my week….

We arrived home last Monday night late.

Tuesday I spent the day running errands and catching up on things that weren’t done while we were out of town. It was a beautiful day!

Back home, I opened the pile of mail from our trip. One envelope was addressed to “Mom C.P.A.”. It had my youngest daughter’s tax info in it. No note. Just the tax info for me to do her tax return. Last month I got an envelope addressed to “The Money Tree”; it had some medical bills in it. I love her sense of humor!

 

Love my daughter’s sense of humor

Wednesday I stopped by the local community theatre. I planned to run in for just a moment to take care of a quick business item, but ended up staying almost three hours! The home school group was rehearsing, and a couple of moms gave me hugs when they saw me. We chatted while their kids rehearsed. I saw the theatre owner and we talked for a while. Then another mom arrived and we chatted. Then someone else arrived for a voice lesson. Then a gal arrived for work and I just had to hear about her grandson! By then folks were arriving for Grease tech rehearsal. So much fun! Lots of joy and laughs!

Yes, that is where the memorial service was held. But it’s also where Andrew performed in a couple dozen shows. Adam, Peter, and Margaret were in shows at that theater. I volunteered many hours there. Many great memories are in that place! I enjoyed seeing friends that day. 

Wednesday is Bible Study night with a wonderful group of ladies. We are doing the Precept study of Joshua. It was a great study. Afterward I stayed and talked with a friend for a long time about the study, her art class, grandkids, and other things.

I love getting to catch up with friends when I’m in town!

Thursday, while I was running around town, I stopped by our local crisis pregnancy center. I helped a few gals learn how to use Canva.com to make memes. They have their annual Walk for Life coming up and need help publicizing it on social media. I taught them how to easily make graphics with the details about the Walk so they can be shared on Facebook and Instagram. I love those ladies! We always have more than a few laughs when I stop by for a visit. I was able to get a picture of Andrew’s memorial tile while I was at The Center.

 

Andrew’s tile in the prayer garden at The Center

After dinner, Ron and I walked about a mile and half to some friends’ house. They love when we drop by. Usually we bring ice cream but didn’t that night since we walked. We arrived at dusk and stayed a couple of hours, so they had to drive us home.

Friday morning I putzed around the house finishing laundry, cleaning, working my Bible study, etc. I went to lunch with a friend and got a massage in the afternoon. Ron grilled salmon for dinner then we went for walk.

Saturday Ron and I spent time looking at trailers since the old one was totaled. Yes, it turns out the frame was twisted when the ambulance hit us the week before. The trailer place said it wasn’t safe to drive. Now they tell us! After we drove it from Virginia to Texas! Oh well! We made it home safe, and the ambulance company will be buying a new one. That’s a win for us!

We went to Opening Day of The Yard, our local Food Truck Park. So much fun! Great food from food trucks! Outdoor seating. Music. Lots of people. A bounce house and fundraiser for a local charity so lots of kids running around. We had a great day.

Our oldest son and his girl friend came down Saturday night and went to Easter service Sunday morning with us. After church we came home and grilled chicken and veggies for lunch. Our daughter joined us when she got out of church. Then the family went to her church to cut up a tree that had fallen on the playground so the preschool could use the playground Monday.

 

Taryn and David

Ron teaching Taryn to use a chainsaw.
I won’t bore you with more details. But I wanted you to know that I love my life! I have peace and joy and laughter! I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. 

Yes, grief hits me at times. I have dark moments, but they are few and far between. I will miss Andrew forever…or at least until I join him in heaven. He made me feel like a good mom. He was a prince of guy.

Losing a child changed me. It impacted me in ways I am still discovering. But it does not define my life or who I am. Grief does not consume my every thought or control my life. My life is good. 

 Trip Log 1.3

The Star Date 3/14/2016

Monday 

We got to our Washington, D.C. hotel just blocks from the White House minutes before Ron’s 2:00 audit committee meeting started. He handed the valet the keys, went to his meeting, and left me to check in. No big deal, right?

One problem: Hotels around here take security very seriously. And my name is NOT on the reservation. 

Our hotel was a block from the White House
Our hotel was a block from the White House

Oh! And I handed them my Texas License to Carry [a hand gun] instead my drivers license.

“We can’t let you check into your husband’s room without his approval, ma’am. Can you wait until he gets out of his meeting?” they asked politely.

Of course they won’t let me in my husband’s room without his ok. Silly me!

“He won’t be done until 9:00! So I wait seven hours?” I responded.

They decided they would call the person with the AHRI organization who made the reservation to verify that I should be allowed in the hotel. Except she’s in the meetings, too.

Plus, I needed to use the little girls’ room. This is an historic, luxury hotel. They don’t let just anyone use their facilities. After much additional discussion, they decide they would let me use the first floor restroom even if I didn’t check in.

I go to the restroom only to find a woman having a seizure! Right in the middle of the ladies room!

So I run, yes RUN, down a long hallway and back through this very fancy, very huge, historic hotel lobby to get security and help for the lady in the bathroom!

I still need to use the bathroom and would like to get into my room!

After all the excitement, they found someone with the AHRI organization who would vouch for me, and they let me check in.

I got settled in the room, made a few phone calls, and decided my head was feeling well enough to explore the beautiful hotel and work on my photography assignment. Here are a few pictures I took while exploring.

 

Willard Hotel Lobby
Willard Hotel Lobbe
Ceiling in the lobby with State Seals
Oklahoma State Seal
Texas State Seal
The second hall I had to run through to get help!
One of the halls I had to run down to get help!
Willard Hotel
Our beautiful hotel room!

 

Going back to my room, I wanted to climb up the stairs, but in these pre-Civil War Era hotels the stairwells are often hidden. The bellman looked at me in an odd way when I asked where they were and told him I would like to take the stairs up to the ninth floor, please. Security had to lead me through a labyrinth to the stairs. My second encounter with hotel security.

A bit later the weather cleared, so I went for a two mile walk around the hotel area, past the White House and near the Washington Monument.

I had to use the elevator upon my return because I couldn’t find the stairs and was too embarrassed to ask for security a third time!

My sweet friend Linda met me dinner since Ron had dinner meetings.

What a day!

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Star Date 3/15/2016

Tuesday 

Weather in the capital city was drizzly and dreary this morning. That did not stop me from me from taking a three and a half mile prayer walk before we hit the road. I walked from the hotel along the mall to Capital and back. I took a few photos on my walk.

 

I didn’t really have time to go into any museums; I had to be packed and ready to leave at 10:30 in case Ron’s meetings ended early.

This afternoon our route took us within ten miles of school where there’s a big job coming up. Bids were turned in recently and we hope we get the order! We took time to walk around the school and pray for favor with those deciding on the bid. We also prayed for the families whose children attend the school as well as for the community at large.

We took time to walk on the beach for a very few minutes before heading to Pennsylvania.

 

 

Atlantic Ocean at the Jersey Shore
Chair Pose on the Beach!
Selfie! Yes, we were tired and only had five minutes on the beach.
A school where we took time to pray for the children and the families in the community.

 

Side note: Yesterday and today we drove through Delaware. I’ve now visited forty-six states in two years. When I asked Ron last night if we could swing through Rhode Island and Maine on this trip to make it an even forty-eight, his answer was, “I don’t need the car until 10:30 tomorrow morning. If you can be back by then, go for it!” He thinks he is so funny.

Perhaps now would be a good time to tell you our crazy schedule for the week. 

Monday morning Ron unloaded the equipment at Harrah’s in Atlantic City. There was School Facilities trade show Monday and Tuesday. A couple of folks from marketing flew in to work the booth for the show.

About 10:00 a.m. Ron picked me up and we left the trailer at the hotel in Egg Harbor and drove about four hours to Washington. Traffic and pulling the trailer can increase travel times.

This morning Ron had meetings in Washington. He wasn’t sure when he would be finished so wanted me ready early. His meeting went late, so we left at noon and drove four hours back to Egg Harbor, picked up the trailer, went to Atlantic City, loaded the equipment, and drove four hours to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Wednesday we have appointments in Harrisburg and few other cities. Then we will drive two hours to Columbia, MD, to be close to our first morning appointment Thursday.

Thursday we have customer appointments in towns all over and around Maryland. We will stay in Gaithersburg after having dinner with friends that night.

Friday morning Ron has a two hour meeting with a large school system in the Baltimore area. He hopes to be back at the hotel to pick me up by ten so that we can hit the road. We are driving to Chattanooga (ten hours) for the weekend to spend time with our oldest daughter and her husband, our youngest daughter, and our grandchildren. We will attend church on Lookout Mountain with them Sunday then head southwest.

We plan to stop to have dinner Sunday evening with friends in Alabama before continuing towards home. We will stop for the night somewhere along the way. We need to be back in Texas Monday night.

If all goes as planned, we will have been gone 18 nights and stayed in 12 different hotels in seven states plus the District of Columbia. 

Of course, things rarely go exactly as planned!

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Star Date 3/16/16

Wednesday 

For this week, today was unusual: Ron had one meeting with a rep firm that lasted all morning. It was just minutes from our hotel, and I got to spend the morning in my room.

Some days Ron’s appointments are not located conveniently for him to come back and get me, so I have leave with him bright and early. Today his schedule made it easy for him to pick me up just after noon. I spent the morning working on my Precept Joshua study, writing postcards to my kids and grandkids, checking social media, and making phone calls.

We traveled a couple of hours to the next appointment. I helped set up then took a walk during his presentation to work on my photography assignment and get some exercise before we loaded up.

After a ninety minute drive to our next hotel, Ron worked on follow up emails and calls, we walked across the parking lot to get some pizza for supper, and got to bed before midnight!

 

Ron showing equipment to engineers in Maryland

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Star Date 3/17/16

Thursday – St. Patrick’s Day!

An early morning demonstration, a quick errand or two, then a pleasant sixty mile drive through stop and go traffic brought us to a great meeting with a large school system where there is plenty of opportunity over the next few years. I helped set up the equipment then walked around the school facilities yard shooting pictures before returning to the car to read The Hiding Place.  I also worked on a couple of blog articles I may publish next week.

On the way to the second meeting, we passed a huge landfill. Ron asked, “Want me to drop you off? Maybe they will let you drive the really big bulldozers!”

My husband knows me well. I would have loved to have spent a few hours driving one of those giant trucks pushing trash around! Really! I would! Too bad I’m not licensed to operate heavy machinery.

Ron asnwering questions about a self-contained unit ventilator from school facilities staff in Maryland.

Ron had a lunch meeting with a rep​. We went to a restaurant where I could sit at a table across the room and work on my Joshua study. I really need to get it finished so I can start on James! Plus, I didn’t want to listen to more HVAC talk.

One more very long meeting with a rep firm (during which I sat I the parking lot reading) then off to the hotel in time for me to have barely thirty minutes to shower and change for dinner.

Some dear friends Mark & Debbiewho live in the area took us took a nice French restaurant in Gaithersburg for a wonderful evening out. This is one of my favorite perks of traveling with Ron: getting to see people I love all over the country!

Just a note: You might be tired if…when you get on the elevator and realize that neither of you remembers what floor your room is on. 

Twelfth. Tonight it was on the twelfth floor. And I did not take the stairs. I did, however, take them down to breakfast the next morning.

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Star Date 3/18/2016

Friday – Our last work day of this trip!

I woke up at seven and Ron was packed and gone. Turns out he had been up at 4:30 a.m. to get everything ready for his day.

He had an early meeting with I-don’t-know-or-care-at-this-point school system. He was supposed to be done by 9:30 but called to say things were going very well and he would be at least another hour. They wanted him to unload all the equipment to show them everything… not what was originally planned.

This is great news for the business, but I didn’t care! I just wanted him to hurry up and finish so we could hit the road! My grand babies were waiting about ten hours down the highway!  I was ready to leave Maryland! Not that Maryland is a bad place.

And, I must say, while in Maryland, we did have one big success: we got the Maryland You Are Here mug. (I’m putting my Illinois failure behind me since we will have another chance to get that one in April…and May…and August…and October.) We have two new mugs and good odds for getting Alabama on Sunday!

 

Maryland You Are Here Mug

 

Ron finally finished doing whatever he was doing and picked me up at the hotel about noon so we could get on to the more important part of this whole trip – going to see my new grandbaby.

I won’t bore you with all the details of driving from Gaithersburg, Maryland, to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Pull up Google Maps and plug in the locations. Set it to “satellite view”, and you’ll be get a feel for what we saw. Trees. Lots and lots of trees. A few cities. And trucks. Big trucks moving very fast.

We listened to The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, music including classic Keith Green and The Eagles, and some podcasts. I slept; Ron drove. Ron slept; I drove. We ate. We drove. More trees. More trucks. Ron worked on emails and phone calls. I played Trivia Crack and lost. We both checked social media. We talked. And laughed. A lot. We enjoyed each other.

Just outside of Roanoke we had a bit of an adventure: It was bumper to bumper traffic going 60-70 miles per hour. A row of about eight to ten cars in front of me (yes, I was driving) slammed on their brakes! A couple of cars veered onto the shoulder even! Cars going every which way! I was able to stop without hitting anyone, but then … BANG! The medical transport (ambulance) behind us hit the trailer. Hard.

No one in either vehicle was injured. We were all fine and pulled off the highway safely.

No people were hurt, but the trailer is messed up! The door and floor are bent. The frame is damaged. Without repairs there is no easy way to get the equipment out.

I am grateful that:

  • No one was hurt. This is the most important thing!
  • The driver was kind and did all the right things to take care of everyone and everything
  • Another transport was there quickly to take the client to her destination
  • It’s a beautiful day and it happened during daylight
  • Their insurance will take care of the repairs
  • It happened at the end of this trip when we don’t need to get the equipment out of the trailer again until we get back to the factory

Yes, it’s a problem and will be a bunch of work to get fixed, but even with no injuries, the whole thing could have been much worse! If it had happened yesterday, for example, Ron would have missed opportunities to demonstrate the equipment for important customers.

And as I have said before, life is an adventure!

We got to our hotel late. That’s okay. We are safe.

And we are going to see people we love early tomorrow morning. We plan to bike with the little boys. They think it’s cool that Grandmother and Granddad know how to ride bikes!

I’ll get to hug two of my daughters and my favorite son-in-law. My Facebook friends will get tired of all the pictures I’ll post. Too bad for them. My grandchildren are darling!

We are going to dinner with another While We’re Waiting couple Saturday night. We’ve been friends for years, since long before either of us joined the fraternity of grieving parents. They lost their daughter about eight months after The Accident. It will be great to spread time with them.

So, yes, getting hit by an ambulance was an inconvenience, but not a major catastrophe. And I look forward to a wonderful weekend.  

I’m publishing this early because it’s already too long.  Trip Log 1.4 will have pictures from out weekend and updates of the final leg home. 

Enjoy your weekend!


Trip Log 1.2

Star Date 3/7/16

Monday 

This is how we do conference calls on the road. Notice my fun colored pencils for my Bible study and the postcards for the kids and grandkids!

I worked with my headphones on while Rachel and Ron talked with engineering and marketing back in Texas. I wore headphones because their conversations are really boring! Plus, if I’d listened, I wouldn’t understand anything they discussed anyway. It’s not because their discussions are top secret and they’re afraid I’d spill the beans to the enemy. In case you were wondering.

After they left to see customers, I went to the hotel workout room. My goal on this trip is to spend some time exercising each day. Yesterday we walked around the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Today I did some stretches, push-ups, crunches, and walked on the treadmill. Plus, I took the stairs each time I went down to the lobby. I only took the stairs up once. But every little bit helps, right?

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Star Date 3/8/16

Tuesday 

Today was an unusual day: seven customer visits in one day! Ron said it’s a record!

He also said he needed me to help load and unload equipment to assure we could make all the appointments on time. Unfortunately, I’m not much help with the heavy lifting, but the rep sure was! We made it to all seven appointments, and the engineers and contractors were very interested in the products.

In the morning, I walked around downtown Buffalo. I took pictures for my photography class.

I strolled along the waterfront while Ron and the rep visited an engineering group late in the day. I stopped to talk to a young Marine who had parked his bike to pay his respects at the military memorials. I told him I’m a Marine mom. He told me he’s still struggling a bit since getting out, but trying to do the right things like spending time with other combat vets, using the G.I. Bill to finish college, getting counseling, and cycling with vets who also use that as therapy. He sounded like another Marine I know. I enjoyed talking with him.

Tonight I will pray both of them. And for all those who serve our nation.

 

Military memorial at the waterfront in Buffalo, New York

 

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Star Date 3/9/16

Wednesday 

I spent the morning in a hotel in Syracuse while Ron met with customers. I took the stairs down and UP twice! Third floor! I spent some time working on my Photography 101 assignment, did some Joshua homework, and prayed for the families of some men I overheard in the hotel restaurant.

After lunch Ron and I stopped in Vestal, New York, to ride our bikes. It was a beautiful seventy-five degrees but very windy, so we didn’t ride very far, only twelve miles. But it was a fun ride.

 

Rail Trail in Vestal, NY

 

We drove to Secausus, New Jersey, and got there fairly late. Too late to do anything but crawl into bed. Along the way we stopped in a small town so Ron could print documents, sign them, and Fed Ex them to somebody important. I have no idea who, what, where, or why.  I don’t suppose I would make a very good reporter.

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Star Date 3/10/16

Thursday 

Secaucus, NJ. If I climbed on the roof, I could see NYC from our hotel! But I didn’t climb on the roof. And I didn’t see New York City.

I did climb down and up four flights of stairs three times today – once each for breakfast & dinner and once to help Ron with something in the trailer. Other than that, I stayed in the room. I did not exercise.

Mr. Migraine came back for a visit, so I’ve been taking it easy today, mostly resting in a dark room. Sad, since I’m just an Uber ride away from the city that never sleeps.

Ron took an Uber ride. First he worked on emails, presentations, and other boring business stuff at the desk in our room from before breakfast through mid-afternoon. I’m not sure what all he does on the phone and computer, but he does it nonstop. Every once in a while, he does a little happy dance. It must mean he got an order or a rep did what he asked. Maybe I’ll record it and figure out how to upload it to YouTube for the world to see.

After he’d done his happy dance a few times, he took Uber into Midtown to meet with customers and is staying to have dinner. They are celebrating a big year in 2015 and securing a really big order recently. It’s an order they wouldn’t have gotten without me, but Ron forgets that part and didn’t take me to the celebration. I keep reminding him of that time on Long Island when I convinced a school facilities manager that Magic Aire Unit Ventilators were the best in the industry. But here I sit with my Lean Cuisine dinner while he is dining on steak in NYC.

(I am woman hear me whine!)

Ok, so the truth is that I played a very tiny role in getting the order. And he thanked me for helping. So I have no reason to whine at all. None. Nada. Zip. Zero.

The real reason I didn’t go tonight is that it’s a working dinner and no other spouses were invited. It is just the top people from the rep firm and Ron talking unit ventilators and air handlers.

Sometimes it’s not appropriate for me to join him for business dinners. I’m okay with that. I glad for the times I am able to join him. I try to be gracious and represent the company well. On the road, I sometimes get to eat nice meals in nice restaurants with nice people. Other times, I microwave something from the hotel gift shop. 

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Star Date 3/11/16 

Friday 

Wake up call was at 5:00 a.m.

We had to be in Philadelphia for meetings at 8:30 and still had to pack and hook up the trailer.

Plus, the early bird gets the coffee mug:

 

New Jersey You Are Here Mug

 

Two great meetings with engineers on Friday ended a very successful week!

During one meeting I took a long walk to shoot some pictures for my photography class. I walked a little over a mile. Yeah me! Even with a headache I got a bit of walking in. I exercised every day this week, except yesterday when I felt so bad.

Here is Ron showing the equipment near Philadelphia.

Ron explaining the features of a self-contained unit ventilator to an engineering group in Pennsylvania.

 

It’s my job to take pictures of at least a few of the demos each trip. Ron likes to have proof to show his investors that he really does work on these trips. (As an accountant, I think the proof is in the financial statements. But I’m just the wife. What do I know?)

After lunch we drove about sixty miles to Egg Harbor Township near the Jersey Shore, where we will stay this weekend. Ron had lots of phone calls and emails to take care of once we checked into our room. An early Thai dinner was followed by his well-deserved appointment at Massage Envy.
Thirteen customer visits across three states plus one bike ride and one You Are Here mug. Not a bad week. Not bad at all. 

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Star Date 3/12/16

IT’S THE WEEKEND!

Ron slept past sunrise in the Rockies!

No we are not in the Rockies; we are in New Jersey. I was trying to be cute.

I’m glad he got to rest this morning. Last weekend he drove more than fourteen hundred miles to get Buffalo, NY, then spent Sunday morning working on the trailer and paperwork before we got to play in Canada for a few hours.

This weekend we don’t have to drive anywhere! Im excited that we get to stay in the same hotel three nights in a row! Ron still has, as he puts it, a boat load of work to do. We don’t have a boat, but at least we get to sleep in the same place for a while.

A big breakfast at IHOP was followed by running errands and little shopping. Nothing exciting, but we picked up a few necessities.

By the way, did you know that in New Jersey you go right to turn left? They have these loops to help with traffic flow. You loop right to go left. Yep, I was totally confused, but it’s true!

img_1063
Sign for left turn in New Jersey

 

You can see the loop in this picture.

 

When you come out of the loop, you must go straight, so you have now completed your left turn, by looping right.

 

I wish I could tell you all about our bike ride along the Jersey Shore!

Unfortunately, I am still fighting a migraine with dizziness and nausea. Yuck! If any of you have experienced these, you understand that riding a bicycle while suffering a migraine is not a great idea.

Ron worked all afternoon while I slept in a dark room.

We had an early supper. Ron did laundry then worked some more more while I went to bed early. I wasn’t a lot of fun or a lot of help today.

I’m glad he loves me for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, in Texas and in Jersery. 

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Star Date 3/13/16

We had breakfast at the hotel then attended Faith Presbyterian Church. It was a sweet service and we met kind people.

Afterwards, Ron dropped me at an Urgent Care center across from the hotel. The headache was worse today. The doctor gave me steroids and new meds that he thinks will help with my pain! Glory!

I’m going to nap while Ron works. A recurring theme this weekend.

I wish I’d felt better and we could have ridden bikes and played all weekend, instead Ron got lots of work finished while I rested. So maybe it worked out for the best. I appreciate how kind he’s been to me. He loves me well.

It’s been a rainy weekend at the Jersey Shore. I hope we can come back some time when both my health and the weather are better!

Tomorrow we head to D.C. where I get to have lunch with a fun friend! But that story will be in next week’s Trip Log. Stay tuned for more adventures from the Magie Aire Road Show!

 

One lasr picture of Ron showing equipment. This was in Buffalo.


Road Trip Log 1.1

I promised myself I would keep a better record of our travels this year, and my blog seems as good a place as any. So here goes.

Our first trip of 2016: Buffalo, NYC, AC, DC, Chattanooga 

The plan was to leave Thursday around 3:00 pm to drive to Joplin. We would arrive in Dayton Friday night to stay with our friends Bret and Kathy. We’d spend Saturday morning with them, then head northeast to be in Buffalo by bedtime. Sunday would be a day to rest. Church in the morning followed by cycling along the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. Business starting on Monday morning.

The best laid plans of mice and men…

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Star Date 3/3/16

3:00 p.m. I was packed and ready to go.  Even had my semi-monthly mani/pedi done.

Then I took a nap.

“Why did I take a nap instead of hitting the road as planned?” you may ask. Because some silly man decided that it was the perfect day to schedule the quarterly company-wide business review meetings. Six of them. (Sorry, sweetheart, but it really was silly to plan those meetings the same day we were leaving! You should have held them the day before or last week. But I love you anyway. And I’m glad you held them before we left town. You are a great leader.)

7:00 p.m. Ron finally got home. It was fun sitting on the couch watching the two puppies follow Ron from our bedroom to the garage to the front door to the kitchen to our room to the trailer to the garage to the…You get the picture. They followed him every step he took like, well, like puppies do. He kept trying to tell them, “I’m just going to the workshop! I’m not leaving yet!” But they weren’t fooled! They knew something was up! He stopped to give them treats and play ball a few times. But they knew. They were sad when he put the last bags in the car.

Two hours later, the car was packed, puppies petted, the trailer hitched, and we hit the road! Without the puppies. They looked so sad!

Change of plans: we were headed to Tulsa for the night! If we got to Tulsa Thursday night, we could still be in Dayton by bedtime Friday.

While listening to a great Tim Keller podcast on Prayer, we suddenly heard a loud BOOM! A tire blew out just over an hour away from home. Sparks were flying! Metal fender was blown clean off the trailer! Well…partially off the trailer.

Change of plans, again: We were not going to make it to Tulsa.

Ron carefully pulled off the road and spent the next hour removing the damaged fender without further damaging it (or his hands) and then changed the tire. Not an easy thing to do with a fully loaded trailer! I stayed in the SUV and made hotel reservations a mere two hours from home.

We got to our hotel room at 1:00 a.m.

No one was hurt. The trailer wasn’t too damaged. We laughed a bunch. And we did not start a grass fire, which is a very real danger this time of year in southern Oklahoma!

Overall, the day was a success! We could get up early, fix the trailer and still be in Dayton tomorrow.

Hey, life’s an adventure!

~~~~~~~

Star Date 3/4/16

Entry 2:00 p.m.

Ron woke early, ate breakfast, and worked to repaired/reattached the fender while I rested and had a wonderful breakfast of fruit, omelette, bacon, and pancakes. By the way, I like food. We dropped the tire off for replacement.

Change of plans. Again.

The trailer repair and tire replacement took a long time. We left OKC at noon. We are not going to be in Dayton tonight.

But I am with my love. It’s a beautiful day. Life is good. I am grateful our friends are flexible. We hope to be at their place for lunch tomorrow. I hope. I hope I hope. Right now, I’m not planning on anything.

12:00 midnight.

We are in Terra Haute, Indiana, for the night. I drove much of the day while Ron slept or worked on emails and phone calls.

I realized I failed today. Miserably. We drove through Illinois and did not stop at a Starbucks. Not once! I was driving! IT WAS MY JOB! We don’t have the Illinois mug. I have failed! How can I live with this failure! Tomorrow I will try to find a way to console myself…

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Star Date 3/5/16

Gloomy weather.

We made it to Dayton to spend a few hours with Bret and Kathy. Their son Graham is home for spring break. I really enjoy him! He is an amazingly talented (and ornery) young man. We had a tasty vegan lunch then went sight seeing: The Wright Brothers Bicycle Shop, Huffman Prairie, and the US Air Force Museum. We didn’t have much time, unfortunately, so we will have to come back another time to explore the museum more.

Seven hour drive through fog, rain, snowy mix, and yuck. But we are safe and warm in our hotel in beautiful Buffalo, New York.

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Star Date 3/6/16

I slept very late! It was glorious! Then we went to lunch, got a few things done Ron needed to do to fix issues with the trailer (a recurring theme on our travels), and headed to Canada.

A few firsts for me today:

  • A stamp in my passport!
  • Italian Wedding Soup
  • Viewing Niagara Falls from the Canadian side

I adore spending the Sundays with Ron on the road. I wish we had been able to ride our bikes, but the temperature was around freezing. A bit too cold to pedal along the falls. Maybe next time.

 


Oh! And I have joined Blogger University course Photography 101. The first assignment is “Home”. Since I am at our home away from home, below is my picture. It reminds me to take the stairs whenever possible!

 

image

 

Haikus

My brother-in-law has been writing poetry. Haikus to be exact. He puts lovely photos with his.

I tried my hand at it. I’d love to read your haikus. Here is the definition of a haiku.

hai·ku

ˈhīˌko͞o,ˌhīˈko͞o/

noun

a Japanese poem of seventeen syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five, traditionally evoking images of the natural world.

Mine don’t evoke images of the natural world, but they do sometimes evoke the spiritual world. A few are just fun. I will be posting them over the next few days. Here is the first haiku. Unfortunately, I don’t have a picture with all eight of them. Never will. 
Things I Love

 

 

 

 

 

February Favorites #16: Moving Day

Today is the last February Favorite.

In November 2013, just a few months after The Accident. I wrote about a Moving Day.
 

“I have been helping my step-mom Evelyn organize and pack her household items the past few days. She is moving from the house my grandparents built back in 1932 to live with her sister in Denver. This is a very good thing for both of them. I am glad for her and her sister.

This is God’s plan for her in this time. But it is very hard for me….”

Read More: Moving Day

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