An Altered Adventure
June 10, 2020
“Grandma, what are we going to do?” ten-year old Molly asked as we settled into my car.
The pandemic separated us for months but with restrictions lifting, she had decided to spend the night. After she hugged her mom and put her loaded suitcase in my trunk, our adventure began.
“We will get lunch somewhere. I have donations to drop off for a charity.”
Because it was close to downtown DeLand, I decided to take a closer exit off the interstate than the one near my home.
“Oh, no. I missed our exit,” I said. We were talking and I noticed my mistake.
The next exit was nine miles away.
“Grandma, I’m hungry. I didn’t eat much for breakfast.”
“We’ll get something soon. Think of this as an adventure.”
Of course, there were only trees as far as we could see.
When we finally got off the interstate, I had to turn around and get back on the highway. That route took us about a mile from my home. My plan for a shorter trip actually took us longer.
“Grandma, we’ve been gone an hour.”
“Not quite.” I didn’t want to admit it was close to an hour.
We finally dropped off the donations and picked up food from a fast food restaurant. At home, we opened the bag.
Molly unwrapped a sandwich. “This has lettuce so it must be yours,” she said.
She opened another sandwich. “This is chicken.”
We knew I ordered two hamburgers. “You can have mine.”
“That’s ok,” she answered.
We ate limp fries with our sandwiches.
When plans don’t turn out the way we hope, we can whine and brood or accept the disruptions and go on.
Molly and I laughed at the missed exit and ate our less than perfect lunch. We were just happy to be together for our adventure.
I was thankful for Molly’s enthusiasm and acceptance of our unexpected experiences.
Loving Father, during the pandemic, we have had many changes, losses and trials. Help us accept our disruptions graciously as just another adventure. Amen.
