On the Road Again

Our drive to Colorado was pretty interesting. I was planning on leaving Monday, Dec 19th, bound for Jay's folks' house south of Denver.

After a visit with my grandparents down the road, I changed my plans very quickly.

There was a blizzard warning for western Kansas effective Sunday, Dec 18th.  The storm was to begin late that night, and last for three days.  I wasn't even ready to pack, so it was a lot of fun rounding all of our stuff up for our two week excursion. Plus preparing for winter weather play time for the girls once we arrived, and remembering all of the Christmas presents that needed to hitch a ride, too.

After about thirty minutes of randomly throwing stuff in tote bags and two suitcases, I decided it was the best that I could do.  The girls were playing in the dining room and Audrey was singing in the kitchen.

I backed the truck up to the back door and began loading my stuff.  Audrey started crying, so I buckled her into her car seat. She didn't like that at all. But, it was the only place I could put her where she would be safe. I knew she wasn't going to fall down the stairs in this position.

Gramma Mary and Papa D arrived from their shopping trip in Wichita just in time to help me load the last two items.  I got the kids nestled in their seats and we were off.  It was six forty-eight in the evening. After dark.  Prime deer-hitting season.  Lord, please be with us.

We stopped in Salina, which was a three hour trip, to see Jerod and Megan. I was going to stay the night there, then head out early in the morning. It would have made me three hours closer to Nana and Papa's house by staying there.  But, Jerod brought up the weather report.  We decided that it would be in our best interest to be through Colby, Kansas by noon the next day.  

I knew that if I had stayed in Salina, I wouldn't have slept. I would have worried about making time to get to Colby.  I wasn't tired at all. It was only nine-thirty at night.

So I hugged Jerod and Megan goodbye, and left for I-70, west-bound.

I knew I could make Hays. It's only a little over an hour to Hays from Jerod's house. That would put me closer to Colby, and stress in the morning would be minimized.

Then my phone 'dinged'.  It was Jay. He was online in Afghanistan and was messaging me on my messenger app.  I installed a talk-to-text app and was chatting away with him.  Girls fell asleep just before Hays, and Audrey had a little later.  I debated drinking my Red Bull and try for Colby, or to stop in Hays and not push my luck.  Since I had Jay with me, in a sense, we both decided that I could do Colby. 

You know what! We did it! Even without the Red Bull!

We pulled over in Colby forty-five minutes after midnight. The Holiday Inn Express and Suites is completely remodeled, and had a vacancy for the girls and I.  I kissed Jay good night, in essence, and tucked my girls into their snuggly hotel beds.  I got the $120 suite for $70. Thank you military discount!

I had a dream that night that when I had woken up, we were snowed in. There were over five feet of snow on the ground.  But Jay was with us in the room. We hung out together, the five of us, and had a wonderful time.

I had mixed feelings when I did wake up for the day.  I was relieved that we weren't trapped so far away from family, but was missing Jay a lot.  Oh well. Buck-up, Stacy. That's life. Get over it.

So after grabbing bananas from the breakfast bar, we were loaded back into our dependable truck and headed west again by seven-fifteen.  Three minutes later, I heard my phone 'ding'.  Jay had made it back to his computer to keep me company for the rest of the trip. I cried.  Such a simple thing. But I was very nervous about beating this winter storm and having him there with me made all the difference in the world.

We stopped in Goodland for fuel, and made it to Mountain Maple Avenue by eleven that morning. The girls rode so well.  Jay had used Find My iPhone and watched my blinking dot all across western Kansas and through to his folks' front door.  I was amazed at technology. 

I thanked Jay for being there for me. It was killing him that he couldn't be here to take care of his family, but he knows that they were in capable hands.  Having his trust means so much to me.  And I think it really helps him over there, knowing that we are competent to handle life's speed bumps.

It started snowing two hours after we unpacked the truck.

The next morning the news reported eleven deaths from that winter storm.  New Mexico interstates were shut down and I-70 was from Colby on.  

Boy did I smile.  We called that.  Jerod and I sat and analyzed the differing weather reports and decided that Colby would be the critical point. It sure feels good being right.  But when Jerod is involved, that is usually the case.  

I just realized that I hope he doesn't read this. Hah!

Anyway, that night, I played with my camera and took pictures of Nana's beautiful tree and its ornaments.  That is what I have to share with you today. 

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