Driving the Gramma Car

Recently we had a boatload of company. The interesting thing about this company is that everyone was there the day before Tim and I were leaving to attend our son's wedding and afterward take a two week vacation. Nothing much different about this. All were family members and it was fun having everyone in our home.

Round 1 - Painful beginnings
The morning of the trip, we got up early thinking we would make a quick getaway with our caravan of cars. Tim's mom and dad always get up early, often before the crack of dawn. I came downstairs to learn that Tim's mom, MaryLou was in intense pain. We guessed a kidney stone. After a brief discussion involving the phrase, "I think I need to go home," we decided to take Tim's mom to the urgent care facility in our town. I guess the urgent care isn't so urgent since the office didn't open until 8 a.m. We talked about returning to urgent care at opening time, but Tim's mom decided to continue with the trip at the scheduled departure time. She'd just "tough it out." A commendable attitude, but very unsettling for everyone.

Round 2 - Disaster strikes at Steak 'n Shake
The trip began, and our little 3 car caravan had an uneventful trip to Columbus, OH, the lunch break. The red car in front with Tim and his mom and dad, our silver car in the middle carrying my mom and me, and our son Jon and his family bringing up the tail end. This trip would be easy-peasy. I'm not particularly fond of driving long distances, but it was working for me. We got off the interstate to eat lunch at Steak 'n Shake. I got out of the car, and turned around to watch my darling grandbabies run across the parking lot after being released from their strapped-in, buckled down car seats. How cute they were. I turned back around and the first thing I noticed was I didn't see my mom. I walked around the front of the car and there she was laying splat, face down on the sidewalk. The curb was extra high at the place we'd parked and she totally misjudged it. Blood was everywhere, not a good beginning for lunch.

Round 3 - Abandonment and treatment
Hoping to get everything taken care of quickly, we went to an urgent care facility in Columbus. No care there. The cut under mom's chin was too deep. Off we went to the emergency room of a nearby hospital. This was going to take awhile. Tim was the officiating pastor for the wedding, Tim's dad was also helping conduct the wedding, Jon and his kids were part of the wedding party and everyone had to be at the rehearsal at 6:00 p.m. We had miles to go to the wedding site. I suggested that everyone else go on and I would stay with mom at the emergency room. I secretly hoped that no one would actually think this was a good idea. It was a excellent idea, and a few tears later I was waving goodbye to the rest of my family. It felt like abandonment.

Tim's stalwart mom decided to stay behind with my mom and me at the hospital. So there I was with two woman who probably should have really been in the hospital and we were sitting in the emergency waiting room. Bless those hospital personnel, they fast-tracked my mom into a treatment room after hearing our story. The tests, x-rays, and stitches only took about 3 1/2 hours (without them rushing her through no telling how long we would have waited). While we languished in the treatment room, I watched some of those wacky judge shows with idiot defendants and plaintiffs on the overhead TV. I guess the hospital thinks maybe you'll be heartened that someone else's problems are crazier than you own.

Round 4 - Released into rush hour and driving the Gramma Car
We were released at 5 p.m., smack into Columbus rush hour. I don't like to drive long distances. . . I hate bumper to bumper traffic. . . I particularly don't like driving in places I've never driven before. These conditions reigned and I was driving the Gramma Car (Everyone in the car was a grandma.) Tim's mom got in the passenger's seat. My mom and her busted chin took the back. MaryLou proved to be an excellent navigator despite the pain. She is one tough (and I mean that in a good way), determined lady. I pray a lot when I drive in traffic. I prayed in Columbus, and was only honked at one time. We made it, made it late to the rehearsal dinner, but we did make it. I think it was due to God and MaryLou.

Round 5 - Losing the parents
If you are a teenager, losing the parents has a whole different meaning. You're on your own, free. Losing the parents when you're our age and our parents' ages is vastly different. The children are now the worried ones. Before the rehearsal dinner was over Tim's mom and dad decided to go on the hotel. The hotel was in another town, the turn-off was tricky, and Tim's parents got lost. When we arrived at the hotel at 10 p.m., we discovered that Mom and Dad Hughes had not yet arrived. We were in the rolling hills of eastern Ohio, peppered with little towns on county roads. Could this day get any worse? Tim set out driving trying to locate Mom and Dad. He did, but of course they didn't recognise him or his car in the dark. Somehow, they all managed to make it back to the hotel before midnight.

The wedding took place the next day, with a power outage at the church. No air conditioning, dim lighting, and only the sound system was working. The bride and groom were radiant. The reception was fun.

THE END