Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Are you Passing Altona?

Oh, yes I did!
Quick context for my story -- I have been working on keeping my promises and doing what I say I'll do. I have a lot of unfinished business over the years; things I've said I would do that I didn't do, so I am slowly trying to complete these unfinished promises. I'll tell more about  that another time but that needed to be said to explain why I was so..... 'crazy' yesterday.
I promised a friend that I would drop off some decorations for the valentines tea that she was decorating for. I couldn't help decorate because I was off to the city with the kids but I told her I would leave the doilies at the church..... ya sure! -Time to leave for the city, North bound we go, bombing down the highway. At about 20 min.s out I look down to the passenger side floor mat and there is the bag of doilies... aaaaahhhhh. I have to get these to the church!
Plan A) drive back to town to deliver them myself.... No, this would take too much time and the kids would have mutiny on me. The one hour drive is enough without backtracking....
Plan B) I'll call and say buy new ones and I'll just pay for these out of my own pocket.... Nope! The cell phone was dead and I left it at home ....  I need another plan. I needed to keep my word, there had to be another plan...... The south bound vehicles caught my attention ....
Plan C) What if someone going to Altona took these for me? ... but I don't know of anyone going to Altona right this minute from where I am (by now 30 minutes out). A brief and crazy thought passes through my mind ..... No, I couldn't do that - Stand on the side of the road holding a sign out to south bound traffic!!!! The thought went out and then came back in, out and in. I tried to ignore it. Why not, I could do this, someone would be bound for Altona..... Oh my, oh my, am I crazy? I would need a paper and a marker..... A confused Ariel passed me 2 pieces of her note paper and what do you know, I just happened to have one of my markers from work in the console.  I pulled around onto the southbound shoulder and marked the words, "Are you passing Altona?" ...Oh, yes I did!... As I stood beside the van; kids ducking low in their seats I waved my sign to all traffic... 2,4,6 maybe 12 vehicles passed. "I can do this. Be patient.", "I live a life worth writing about!! and I will keep my word."...... Finally a nice elderly man stops and agrees to take the rather small bag of doilies to a small town near their destination. The plan was coming together and I was relieved to know that I was closer to fulfilling my word and also freed from my rather embarrassing roadside job. From there I found a payphone and called our church secretary who helped the doilies complete their journey and YES they made it to the hall for decorating on time.
Big thanks to those that helped those doilies get to the church.

Oh and today's my Birthday -Happy Birthday to me!

1 comment:

Sharleen Thiessen said...

That is AWESOME! I did not know that those doilies had such an adventure getting there (I had heard that there was a bit of run around with them, but this story is great!)