Florida

It doesn’t look like Florida, does it? Florida was where I was supposed to be. I was going to head down there to provide a distraction for my mother and Phil from the various medical issues they are dealing with. But his doctors sent him back up here for an appointment.

So, I figured I would save them by getting to the Lake first and warming it up and cooking dinner before they arrived after their three day drive in the rain.

On the way there, I blew out two of my tires. Two of my BRAND NEW tires. I ran into a curb pulling into a gas station just off of the highway exit. Yes, if Nicole had done it, there would have been hell to pay. The people I was coming to save offered to come save me, but I managed to get towed to a garage and had two newer tires (by three weeks) put on. I arrived at the house about three hours after pulling off the highway. It was nice and warm by the time I got there, and they had cheese and crackers for me.

Phil really wants me to include the following story in this post, so here goes. There is a reason for the flat tires. Back when I was a kid, I wanted to be a nun, and I had my heart set on a Children’s Bible for my 10th birthday. I don’t know what happened between then and now, but about the only leftover from my Catholic days is that I don’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent. (Don’t ask me why.) Sometimes I forget, but this season I was doing very well. This past Friday, I made salmon, couscous, and brussels sprouts. While preparing dinner, I saw we had some bacon in the fridge, and I thought that would make a tasty addition to the brussels sprouts. After cooking the bacon, I realized what I had done. However, who can resist cooked bacon? Later that night, I was doing one last scroll through Facebook, and it dawned on me that not only was it a Friday during Lent, it was Good Friday. I thought to myself, “I’m screwed.” Hence, the tires.

The next day I actually did save them. I got their Internet working. That involved updating the firmware on an Airport Base Station that no one knew the password to while being one short on the number of ethernet cables that would have been optimal for solving the problem.

I also provided them with some good food: a cranberry bread from Thanksgiving, a carrot cake from Christmas, and a chunk of Heather and Lauren’s birthday cake from Easter.

On the third day, I got back to my original goal of providing them with a distraction.