Ken said that he wanted to leave by 7 am on Wednesday morning. We had done pretty well Tuesday night; everything that we wanted to take was near the front door. Ken just had one thing to do before we left, make sure that his “Out of Office” reply was set on his work email. Just one problem- there didn’t seem to be that option on his laptop. And so I took our luggage into my own hands and packed the car.
I did an amazing job, I thought. Everything fit. First there were the two large suitcases- one for Ken and I combined and the other for the Baby and all his toys, books, clothes, blankets and diapers, then the portable crib, the happy hippo gym, and the stroller. On top of all that there were the small bags that didn’t seem to fit anywhere else, the toiletry bag, the running shoes, the diaper bag that was packed so full of extra items that it could not be closed. After packing I took the car on a spin around the block and there didn’t seem to be any shifting or sliding as went up and down hills or turned. I was pleased with my work and let Ken know that we were ready to go just as soon as he was.
We actually hit the road about 8, just an hour behind schedule, not too bad for our first trip with baby. We stopped several times at rest stops and gas stations so that I could move from the front seat to the back seat and back again, depending on the needs of the baby. After 470 miles I was ready to drive and the baby needed to burp. We stopped at the rest stop at the I-80, US-95 split. Before long we were heading back to the Freeway, the rest stop was on the south side of I-80 and so we had to turn left, go under the freeway and then turn right onto the cloverleaf on ramp. As we made our way around the on ramp I wondered, out loud, about the noises I was hearing, it sounded to me like there might be something wrong with the car, that or the Semi that was parked along the side of the on ramp was really really loud.
I made sure all the windows were up and Ken asked if all the doors were closed tight. It was then that I noticed the little red line on the back of the diagram of the car in between the speedometer and tachometer. THE BACK GATE OF THE CAR WAS WIDE OPEN!
I did an amazing job, I thought. Everything fit. First there were the two large suitcases- one for Ken and I combined and the other for the Baby and all his toys, books, clothes, blankets and diapers, then the portable crib, the happy hippo gym, and the stroller. On top of all that there were the small bags that didn’t seem to fit anywhere else, the toiletry bag, the running shoes, the diaper bag that was packed so full of extra items that it could not be closed. After packing I took the car on a spin around the block and there didn’t seem to be any shifting or sliding as went up and down hills or turned. I was pleased with my work and let Ken know that we were ready to go just as soon as he was.
We actually hit the road about 8, just an hour behind schedule, not too bad for our first trip with baby. We stopped several times at rest stops and gas stations so that I could move from the front seat to the back seat and back again, depending on the needs of the baby. After 470 miles I was ready to drive and the baby needed to burp. We stopped at the rest stop at the I-80, US-95 split. Before long we were heading back to the Freeway, the rest stop was on the south side of I-80 and so we had to turn left, go under the freeway and then turn right onto the cloverleaf on ramp. As we made our way around the on ramp I wondered, out loud, about the noises I was hearing, it sounded to me like there might be something wrong with the car, that or the Semi that was parked along the side of the on ramp was really really loud.
I made sure all the windows were up and Ken asked if all the doors were closed tight. It was then that I noticed the little red line on the back of the diagram of the car in between the speedometer and tachometer. THE BACK GATE OF THE CAR WAS WIDE OPEN!
I pulled over as fast as I could, believing with all my heart that we had just lost the majority of our belongings. Ken jumped out and took a look, the happy hippo gym had fallen out right as I stopped but from what Ken could see everything was there. I couldn’t believe it. The plastic shopping bag full of toiletries that was just sitting on top of the portable crib was still there. The Ziploc bag full of the babies’ medications and creams that was lazily placed on the top of open diaper bag, STILL THERE! We were amazed.
Sometimes I do dumb things- like forgetting to close the back of the car, but out there, somewhere, were some guardian angels that worked very very hard to keep Ken and I from dodging cars on the freeway to retrieve our lost items. It took awhile for my heart to slow down and for my mind to wrap around the truth that everything was still right where I had placed it when I packed the car that morning. Ken was so proud of my packing job that at our last stop in Nevada he took this picture as proof.
Sometimes I do dumb things- like forgetting to close the back of the car, but out there, somewhere, were some guardian angels that worked very very hard to keep Ken and I from dodging cars on the freeway to retrieve our lost items. It took awhile for my heart to slow down and for my mind to wrap around the truth that everything was still right where I had placed it when I packed the car that morning. Ken was so proud of my packing job that at our last stop in Nevada he took this picture as proof.
1 comment:
Hi Kate,
I noticed from Alicias blog you had one too. It is a nice way to keep track of lost friends. Your baby has grown so much since the reunion. Looks like you are being a good mom! Enjoy him now because soon he'll be into everything:)
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