Adventures of the Truckin' Duo: Dealing With Life's Challenges

Hello everyone..we're back on the road again. Our time off was much needed and very busy but as

the saying goes....We owe, we owe so it's off to work we go!

We got unloaded Monday...not Friday as planned...which meant our time in sunny Florida at the lake with the rest of the family went from 7 days to 3 days. Oh my, did I say sunny Florida...no wait..sunny Florida was the 4 days before we got there. We spent 3 wonderful days in rainy stormy Florida but as Carl said..at least we had some quality family time. Yes we did...quality family time in the sun by the lake would have been better..but that's ok we still had a good time.

After we got unloaded Monday in Valdosta, we had to drive alllll the way to Atlanta to put LC in the shop so "he" could get fixed while we were on vacation. In November we had a "super trucker" back into us one night while we were parked....in a parking spot....at a truck stop. We were watching tv in the back of the truck and I just happened to look up as the driver was backing up and I started yelling to Carl that I thought he was going to hit us but before Carl could do anything, sure enough...WHAM!!! He just broke, bent, cracked and scratched all the parts that we had fixed 2 weeks earlier. I was furious and before Carl could say anything I jumped out of the truck and took off running up to his truck to give him a piece of my mind and then I saw him....this poor little old man that didn't have a clue what had just happened. I told Carl that he reminded me of the little monkeys that see no evil, speak no evil and hear no evil because he didn't see this big 'ol truck..didn't hear all the truck horns blowing at him...and bless his heart he wouldn't speak. He just kept shaking his head. Now picture this....it's November in Michigan and I am out side taking pictures in the dark with my comfy clothes on, no shoes, no bra, hair a mess and nooooo makeup when a State Patrol comes wheeling around the front of the truck and the minute he sees me he slams on brakes. I asked him if he was there about the accident and he said, "No, I am looking for someone. I didn't know anything about an accident." He was looking for the "lot lizard" that had been working the parking lot earlier and when he saw me...yep, Carl said he thought he had found that "lot lizard." In the midst of all that, Carl kept his calm and his sense of humor. At least one of us has a little bit of sense. Well, anyway LC is looking good again!!

Ok now back to our week...we celebrated 5 birthdays, Mother's Day and Father's Day while we were home. It was so nice to be home and not on the road during these special occasions. I really thought we were going to miss Father's Day and some of the birthday celebrations Sunday. We had planned to leave Sunday morning but when it came time to get in the truck Carl surprised me and said we weren't leaving until after lunch. It was his special day but as usual he was thinking about what would make me happy. He is by far the best!!!

As much as I love my family, I must say the best part about being home is spending time with Timothy. Before I started writing this I was thinking about how things have changed over the years. How we went from being in that "survival mode" the first few months after he was born, to the joy and excitement as he mastered all the "firsts" as a baby, to the amazement of his very creative imagination as a little boy, and then how during the teenage years we circled back around to "survival mode"..for us and for him. I remember the day I realized he was taller than me...I was getting on to him about something and was having to look up to see his face... "Oh no this is not going to work..sit down right here!" Looking down and pointing my finger seemed much more effective than looking up. Then we circled on around to the excitement of the "firsts" as a young adult...our first conversation not just as parents-son but as adults, his first job, his first truck and his first truck payment :) I look forward to all his other "firsts" as an adult. Carl and I are so proud of the loving, hard working, Christian young man that he is. If he is reading this he is probably saying,"Mama, REALLY!" He tries to tell me that he doesn't miss me when I'm gone but, he really does. Our children may not always follow the path that we think is best but as Proverbs 22:6 says "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

Now that I am crying a river of tears..let me tell you where we are going....Texas! If you have read any of my other posts then you know about our Texas adventures. Can't wait to see what happens this go 'round.

'Til we meet again!

Only by Grace,
Lynne