Monday 3-25-13
My "Oh sh!t" day
After successfully sleeping in yet another day I woke up to my brother answering a phone call. I help myself to some yummy deserts from yesterday and have them for breakfast. The way I see it angel food cupcakes with fresh fruit on top is similar enough to a donut and hey, I might even get bonus points for for actually having fruit. Mmmmm...
I walk back into the living room and can tell the conversation is work related. My brother is the on call trucker when someone gets sick or needs a replacement truck driver. Maybe David has to work tonight, originally he was off all week.. But one night is not bad. I anxiously wait for my brother to finish the call. Ok, what's the scoop? The father in law of one of the drivers passed away last night and that driver needs a replacement driver for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Wait a minute, did you say Wednesday?? Yes.. Wednesday. Wednesday is the one day I need a ride to des moines to catch my plane home, now what am I gonna do? I'm not going to panic, I walk back into the kitchen and get another cupcake; screw it, better take a brownie too. Ok back to the couch I go, well equipped for some stress eating.
I actually remained calm for a couple of hours... David called several of his friends, but it turns out in a small town when someone dies half the town plans to go to the funeral, the other half would go but they have to work. The other catch is that Des Moines is 2-1/2 hrs away, some people volunteer to get me to Omaha, but how am I going to get to Des Moines from there? After a few more phone calls I decide I'd better get my husband working on a plan. If anyone can get me back to oregon he will find a way. Ok, I will get a ride to Omaha and catch a bus from there. Let's check that out... Some of the bus times are in the middle of the night and at weird hours and to top it off the bus stops are not in safe parts of town. Crap, what am I going to do?! Now I start to panic.. Better get another brownie.
David and i tossed around thoughts of who we could call.. I'm pretty sure I can get an ex-boyfriend of mine to take me to Omaha but that is just weird to even think about.. And I've avoided him this whole trip so no.. Let's keep calling and waiting for a response.. A few phone calls later, David's neighbor said he would take me to Omaha.. But we still need to lock into a time and I'm a litte nervous about relying on someone I dont know to get me to Omaha. But that thought is better than an ex-boyfriend awkward hour trip to Omaha.. ok..I will take this offer, but I'm still fidgety.
About an hour later Jeff called and said he found a bus that stops in Shenandoah on its way to Omaha! Yeah!!! The catch is that it stops in Shen at 4:10 in the morning. Yuck! But yeah!! Thats fine, one way or another I will get myself to the parking lot it picks up at and I will be on that bus! We try to buy the ticket on line but for some reason it wont let us. So we call greyhound... And wait... And wait.. 40 min later someone answers from another country.. Hello, hello, then I hear somone dialing on the phone line. Click! Really!? I just got hung up on.
Calling again... 20 minutes later, no answer.. I'm starting to get annoyed. David calls the bus line that is working for greyhound (jefferson bus lines) and after a few minutes is connected to a real person and he speaks decent English. David hands me the phone and I am disconnected from the real person. Ugh!! Ok one more time we call jefferson bus line and I get a nice lady that books my ticket out of Shenandoah going to Omaha and then goes on to Des Moines. From the bus stop there I will have take a taxi to the airport but it is all do-able. Whew!! What a relief! I am so thrilled to have a way to Des Moines to catch my plane! Wow, That took a lot longer than I thought it should, it's already almost 4:00... But I know I can get home so "Woot!!" (as my oldest would say). Deep breathe, Now what should I do?
David and I went to a store called The Emporium.. I want to get a keepsake to remind me of my trip but I have no clue what I am looking for. The Emporium is a store full of pretty fake flowers, lots of candles, pictures, jewelry, sayings, cards, chimes and all sorts of knick knacks.. My mom used to love going thru this store. There are so many things to look at, so many sayings to read, and there are a few items that say Shenandoah on them but not many. Its not a big store so I took my time examining every last item. There are so many cute things that would be awesome to take back home, how do I make a decision? I look one way and think, ooh that's nice, but a little big. Then I look another way and see something I like, but its very breakable. The next thing is too expensive so I continue to look around. There are many sayings on pictures that make me get tears in my eyes but I can't decide which one speaks to me. So many things I really like, but I'm waiting for something to really jump out at me, where I just know this it meant to go home with me. I am a little overwhelmed, so for now I just buy a post card. I hope tomorrow I will see something somewhere that is just right. My mom used to "visit" pictures and furniture before buying anything so I guess it was a good visit to the store.
My stress level is better now that I've passed my oh shit moment of trying to figure out how to get to Des Moines. I think about Jeff's sister Molly traveling overseas in India, then Switzerland with plans of going to Rome, Italy and even Denmark and all of her unknown connections of trying to get from one country to another. She is truly an amazing young woman with incredible strength to soak in all of the unusual cultures along with language barriers and learning the ins and outs of trying to make one train to another and not even knowing where she will be sleeping that night. I am 18 years older than her, on a 10 day journey; her journey will take several months. I am already homesick.. I can't imagine how scary and lonely some days must feel for her even though she has friends all along the way. I know if I can capture so many memories in my trip she will have a lifetime of stories to tell. I feel a sense of pride as I think of her journey and mine.. I am proud of her and all that she has already accomplished.. but then I realize I am proud of myself too. Our trips are so different and a world apart but both are dreams we have conquered.
Its getting too late to start off on any adventures and david needs to rest to go to work tonight so we go back to his house. I decided I would go drive around Shenandoah by myself and soak it all in; my time in shen is now ticking away. The sky is grey and its kind of gloomy outside, it freezing cold and blah, but its amazing to be driving around in my brother's pick up. I stop and take many pictures and remember I can make videos with my tablet. Cool! I drive from one spot to another making video clips to share with my family back home. As I talk on the videos I really want Jeff to be able experience this journey with me. I feel silly talking to myself outloud while recording everything from the football field, to the hospital my mom worked at, to my old doc office, to the house I grew up in and my high school. My voice is hoarse from traveling and the cold dry air but I am determine to capture these memories. Off towards hyvee and then thru downtown.
As I pull back towards davids house I really have a sense of closure but with hopes of new beginnings. I am unable to describe my emotions. I go inside and feel very blessed to have this one on one time with my brother. We are different in many ways and yet similar in several other ways. This time time together has been priceless.
We end the evening watching tv and me trying to deal with emotions of being homesick, yet being sad about leaving Iowa. I am excited and stressed about my travels back home. I decide to have one more brownie before going to bed. Thank you Tracey for the wonderful treats that have helped me thru this day. While in the kitchen I look outside and see my moon getting bigger and brighter which is another reminder of the ticking clock and going home. I lay down on the couch and realize I have been sleeping on a couch and I smile. You see, my mom loved falling asleep on the couch and watching tv. I just know its all going to be fine.. My stress is let go and my mom is smiling. Goodnight.
