Roadtrippin - Day 205
12.23.2018 - Roadtrippin
Our Christmas road trip started with a less than desirable situation. The evening before getting on the road turned into a later night than it was supposed to be. Your mother and I went to a Christmas party at the Harples. “We’ll drop by, play a few games, do the gift exchange, and then we’ll head back to the Thomas residence to get some sleep.” We had an awesome time hanging out, eating and drinking. The night began to get more and more loose, and the White Claws and wine were flowing. Mimi was set to take the first shift on the open road, so rage we did. “We’ll sleep it off on the road.” We said our goodbyes and Merry Christmases and arrived back at the house a little after midnight and went to bed. We slept and we slept and we slept.
Earlier in the day, the road trip team had discussed leaving for Granny A's at 4am in order to beat traffic. Classic roadtrip tactic; get out of the city before everyone wakes up. I had set an alarm before laying down, but I failed to plug up my phone (to charge). Chargers as we know them will likely no longer exist by the time you read this. Of course, my phone dies before the alarm can ring. Your mother, being wiser than I, plugs her phone up. However, she does so in the kitchen and her phone happens to be on silent. Don’t get an iPhone son. So again, we slept and we slept and we slept.
Your mother had gotten up in the “middle of the night” to go to the bathroom and check her phone. As chance would have it, the clock had already struck 4am. The clock had struck 5am and 6am as well, and she had 10 missed calls from Mimi. She bursted back in the room. “OMG Marc, your mom has called us 10 times. Where's your phone??” I plugged in my phone, and text messages and voicemails begun to flood the screen. I'm shaking a little as I called back. I could hear the anger in her voice.
Your Mimi has many outstanding qualities, but punctuality has been a work in progress for many, many years. Well, apparently she has come a long way since my youth because she had arrived at 4am on the dot. The temperature outside, where she had been sitting in the car for 2 hours, was in the low 40s. I went to the door to let her in and and proceeded to lay the groveling on thick. Obviously, she was furious and had every right to be. She let me have it for hours at a time on multiple occasions over the next day or so. And there was nothing I could do but take it in stride.
That's what life is sometimes, taking the punishment you've brought upon yourself. You have to acknowledge when you've done wrong and apologize from the heart. You'll have many situations where you're not immediately forgiven. And you can't force the person you've hurt to forgive you on your schedule; never expect that. It's not an easy place to be. However, I’ve experienced that if you're earnest and humble, things tend to work out. Even when it doesn't work out, it's still always forward. Take that to heart!
Remember that I still love you when you've done something dumb and are reaping the consequences. The Lord says don't spare the rod. My mother and father didn't and neither will yours. You’ve been warned.
I love you son, and Merry 1st Christmas.
Rodbearer
