I figured if I was speedy enough, the boys and I would be past West Des Moines and the half-way mark of the trip. Mother Nature, however, had other plans.We left on a Tuesday afternoon. The snow, sticky and wet, had been steadily falling since about 10am. No problem, I thought, I've driven in worse weather than this. After spending about ten minutes entering the freeway and another ten maneuvering around the slowest of the slow cars, I finally made it to a point where I felt I was getting somewhere. I was driving far less than the maximum of 70 and far slower than I actually wanted to, but with the weather conditions as they were, I didn't want to risk an accident.
We saw three semi trucks in the ditch that night. The last one, outside Iowa City, stopped traffic for twenty minutes. By then I was so exhausted that I pulled over to the closest motel I could find - which turned out to not be such a good idea. The place was filthy and I hardly slept knowing that I'd probably awaken with lice or bedbugs. Thankfully, though, and surprisingly, we had no little friends sharing our beds.
By the next morning, the snow had stopped and we drove through Des Moines and Kansas City without difficulty. I forced the boys to have lunch at Toot-Toot in Bethany, Missouri. They cried because they really wanted to go to a Sonic. Does Sonic have a stuffed raccoon in a miniature birch bark canoe? Or fried pickles? I thought not. In retrospect, Sonic would have been the better choice: after spending two days in the car in addition to being in a new place, the boys bounced off the walls in excitement. I think the waitstaff and the customers were glad to see us go, especially after the embarrassingly horrendous meltdown outside the bathroom.
We pulled into Joyce's driveway at about 4pm - far later than I anticipated, but was she excited to see us! She had met Arthur long ago, when he was two, and had never met Balin. Arthur, of course, was too young to remember Joyce, but both boys quickly warmed up to her. They marveled at all of the Christmas trees and played on a rusty swing in her yard. (What is it with these boys and rusty yard equipment?) They admired the "kitty pancakes." Balin, still on his Astro kick, insisted that a sea lion pancake be made. Joyce told me I'd be making that one (which I did), but it looked less like a sea lion and more like a melted cow. Balin was still satisfied.
The boys enjoyed visiting Ft. Scott. They have done an incredible amount of work on the grounds since the last time I was there. It's become more interactive, with lots of kid-friendly exhibits. Arthur and Balin loved combing the horse's tail second to running around the grounds. Those boys.
Aunt Joyce has always been a very busy person. She's involved in so many activities around Ft. Scott I could probably learn a thing or two about time management from her! This year, she had volunteered for Homes for the Holidays and planned to have all 15 of her trees up and on display for the whole town! (She has literally thousands of Hallmark ornaments - some that she's been collecting for decades.) It was a bit of a headache for her because there was so much to get done before next Saturday. Aunt June was helping Joyce decorate (June's always had a flair for design) and for whatever reason, Arthur loved helping her! He put ornaments on the trees and hung garland. He even put fake poinsettias in Joyce's flowerpots and helped me arrange them. June was quite impressed with his skills!
The last few days of our trip were quite nice. Temperatures were in the 50's and 60's. Joyce and I took the boys to a park. They spent most of their time throwing rocks into a nearby lake and climbing over and under the playground equipment. Both insisted that they did not need jackets (residual Alaskan living?) and Joyce joked that she would be wearing her sweatshirt. It was a too chilly for her.That's the funny thing about kids, right? As soon as something sparks their interest, they forget they're hungry, cold, or bored. It certainly seems like my boys are bi-polar sometimes when really they just find a new activity that interests them.
Finally, on the very last day, we managed to make it over to a friend of Joyce's where the boys got to ride (and drive!) a little farm tractor. Excited is an understatement. Arthur was ready to hop on, but Balin held back, a little frightened. Once he saw how much fun Arthur was having pushing dirt around, he forgot about how scared he was and wanted to get on, too. The tractor wasn't the only machine the boys rode that day - they got to also mow the lawn!I hope you spent your Thanksgiving with friends and family. Do you realize how lucky you are?
Blessed be.
