I just returned home from a great weekend with family for a bar mitzvah in New York. I even brought two extras home with me. I was happy to go, and happy to come home. Still, perhaps this was not the best weekend to travel. We were scheduled to leave on Thursday night about 7:30 PM, by car. As I watched the weather report on Wednesday, I realized our plans may need to change. We gave Gavi and Keren a snow day, and planned to leave when Jesse came home (it was an early dismissal day, so by 3:30).
There is a wonderful Yiddish saying, "Der mentsh trakht un Got lakht; a man plans and God laughs."
I said we'd do pick up. I had forgotten that pick up does not just mean Jesse and one other teen. Delay number one.
I don't know where my head was, but I could not get my act together. On Wednesday I was so nutty, I left work an hour early only to realize that I was not 10 minutes late to pick up Gavi and Keren, but actually 50 minutes early. On Thursday I couldn't seem to get the packing done. It was a work day for me. I had a meeting at 9:00. We had a new maid coming, and Gavi & Keren were home. I made it to the meeting, got my work done, but couldn't get the packing done. Laundry wasn't finished. The suitcase was the wrong size. I packed, but needed to repack in a larger suitcase. I packed the larger suitcase, and realized I needed to keep one night's clothes out for our stopover. AAAAHHH! Delay number two.
A change from 7:30 PM to 3:30 PM means a meal in the car. I hadn't been shopping last week, so not easily made sandwich foods in the house. Oh no, a trip to the store, but that's okay because...
As I was packing (badly) Keren realized that none of her tights of leggings fit her. Tights or leggings are a definite need for a February bar mitzvah, so off to the store I went. Thankfully the Superstore has both food and clothes (an odd combo), so two things only became delay number three.
When all was packed, and Jesse finally home, we tried to pack the car. Suddenly the kids realized (after all day at home for G&K and 20 minutes for Jesse) that there were other things they needed. Ugh! Delay number four.
We schlep all out to the car. Snow is falling heavier and heavier. My parents are returning with us, and we're all going to the bar mitzvah together (with my brother too), so i need all seven seat in the van. THe back seat will not lock into place. After 20 minutes of futzing with the latch, we fixed it, but there it was, delay number five.
As we finally got into the car ad turned on the radio to get the traffic report I heard, "Blizzard warning for New York" Seriously?!
Off we went anyway, into horrible weather getting worse by the minute. Once we cleared Hamilton the weather cleared; the road opened. God might have been laughing, but he gave me a break. We did miss our first hotel opportunity (sort of planned), and then we missed our second hotel opportunity (NOT PLANNED). We headed to a hotel, where God thought to laugh a little more. The rooms had double beds only. Jesse & Gavi opted to sleep on the floor. I called for extra blankets. Housekeeping had gone home. There was only one extra blanket at the front desk. Jesse got it. At 2:00 AM Gavi was cold. He got up, clogged the toilet. (Yes, clogged the toilet), and crawled into bed with me. We woke to the blizzard starting to roll into NY. Ate quickly, and left to still clear roads until Jersey, where wind and rain made visibility almost nil.
Finally, a couple of hours before Shabbat we made it whole, mostly unfrazzled, and ready for a relaxing weekend with family.
Today we drove home, leaving NJ in wind and rain. After packing my parents entire fridge into my car (old peppers, a bag of tangerines, a whole chicken, 8 raw eggs and 5 hard boiled, and so much more), being minorly lost in NJ (due to conflicting directions from the GPS and my father), and a bathroom stop every hour, we arrived home to beautiful snow causing the streets and trees to shimmer.
Next trip- Ottawa!
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