The Crazy Trip That Almost Was

Thursday afternoon Mom called. I had seen her at Ladies' Bible Study (Side Note: I get to go to LBS for the first time in I don't know how long! I lost a student, which is not good for me financially, but one of his times was 80 min. on Thursday mornings. So, while I can, I'm going. We're doing a study on contentment. ) Then she met Dave for lunch at Pie in the Sky. I guess she was feeling pretty good after all that, because she asked me if I was up for a trip to Kansas. On Saturday.

Turns out my cousin Jack, the son of one of Mom's brothers, was having a big hoedown for his 69th birthday. Somehow Mom got wind of it and decided she wanted to go. Maybe. But she wanted to see what I thought. And she had my sister in law Cathy checking flights. We could leave Saturday and come back Tuesday. What did I think? I told Mom if she wanted to go, I was on board. Let's go!

But she wasn't sure. I encouraged her to decide so we could get the reasonable rates Cathy had found. (I also needed to know so I could find someone to fill in for me at Kohl's and I needed to let my students know I wouldn't be there for educational therapy Monday and Tuesday. Spontenaity is hard work these days! But I didn't tell Mom that, so as not to sway the decision.) Poor Mom really struggled with the decision. She felt bad about disrupting schedules. I assured her we were all happy to be flexible, especially for this special occasion. She told Bill she needed some authoritarian man to tell her it was a crazy idea and not to go. Bill told her she didn't have that, so she would have to do what she wanted to do.

I think that is what got her. She wanted to go. Mom really has a soft spot for Jack. She wants him to know Jesus. She knows her time is short. As Gayle pointed out, Mom's attendance at the party would have been an act of extravagant grace on her part. But I think in the end, even though she wanted to go, Mom felt like her body just couldn't handle the travel. She let me know Friday that the trip was off. You know that painful divide between what we want to do and what we actually can do? I think Mom is feeling it.



Cousin Jack is on the front row next to Mom, white shirt.