... there is always a hiccup. At some point in the transition, something goes wrong. Wrong enough that you wonder if this will be the bump that derails the train, the event that stops the show. At the time of writing this, the biggest hiccup came on our drive from Pittsburgh to DC. It all started with the rain... It was raining when we woke up in Jamestown with the Leary grandparents, raining when we drove to the Pittsburgh airport to pick up the rental SUV that I would drive down to DC with the boys and the dog. We had a quick lunch at Chick Fil-A, said tearfully funny goodbyes with plenty of "see you next summer" reminders. The boys and I stuffed ourselves into the Jeep Compass, crowded by luggage. Five ENORMOUS bags (large enough to fit a small adult), Elvis's kennel broken down, the computer bag, the document bag (I want to handcuff this to my wrist for the next five days. It's that important.), and the neck pillows and jackets for the drive. Unavoidably someone complains that it's too cold in the car, but the fact is that if I turn up the heat, I will fall asleep and we will not go to Japan because we will be recovering from driving into a ditch.
So it rained... and it rained... and it rained. We drove merrily along until a big pick-up truck with a trailer passed me and pulled right in front of my lane, pretty close. I slowed down, but not fast enough. A big rock from his trailer flew into the air and smacked the windshield with a loud ping. It hit down low, on the bottom left of the windshield from my vantage point behind the wheel. It left a little ding in the glass. "Close call," I thought, as the idea of damaging a rental car is not at the top of my to-do list. I drove along, putting the ding out of my mind. There was nothing I could do about it, just continue on in our travels. About an hour later, I noticed what appeared to be a crack forming from the ding. Oh, no. Not good. Again, nothing I can do about it. Keep on trucking.
As we continued south, the rain began to taper off, and it got hot outside. Really hot and humid. I turned up the AC to keep myself cool and awake. I suppose the temperature difference was not quite the best thing for the small crack. All of a sudden it made a loud noise, like a snap, and it tripled in size in both directions. As I drove, I watched it grow, like a weed in the July sun. Not sure what to do, I called the car rental place to ask them. They have roadside assistance, but it would take a while to get to us, and at that point, we were only an hour from DC. I decided to continue on. I had visions of arriving at the hotel with no windshield and covered in safety glass.
Thankfully my visions did not become a reality, and we arrived at the hotel in Springfield VA with a still intact windshield. The crack had grown to about 18-20 inches long, right across the bottom of the windshield above the steering wheel. Needless to say, I was mentally fried after that 4.5 hour drive.
The boys helped me carry all the luggage up into our room. People, this is no small feat. All of our five bags weigh 50 or more pounds. They are really really heavy! God bless my boys and their willingness to help. They shouldered a man-sized load, covering for Ryan's absence. I did not feel alone in my struggle because I had them there helping me. I could write an entire book about military kids and the path they walk. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, I hold military kids in the highest regard possible. They carry a heavy load and do it with such grace that it looks easy. BLESS THEM.
Back to the rental car situation, I called back to the company, and they offered to replace the car, but I would have to drive it into Reagan Airport. Bear in mind, it was close to 5 PM on a weekday. Anyone who knows DC knows that a drive into Reagan during rush hour is not very appealing. I just wanted to be able to close the chapter on this car. I drove it in. What should have been a 20 minute drive took 45 minutes, so it could have been worse. I explained to the rental car employee what happened, and he said they would exchange the car and give me a free upgrade for my trouble. Perhaps they could tell I was hanging on by a thin thread, or they were feeling nice, or my "please help me, this situation sucks, I'm moving overseas and think I might go crazy" demeanor was just what they needed to see.
I drove out of the rental car garage in a Jeep Grand Cherokee with all the bells and whistles, so much so that I couldn't figure out how to turn on the headlights. Back at the hotel, two hungry boys were waiting for me. We walked to two different restaurants for dinner because God forbid we have an easy sit-down meal together. :-) Showers, bedtime, and today dawned a fresh day. So far, so good today. The show goes on.
