"Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"
by Crystal Paine
So, I promised earlier that I would tell you about our really bad day the last day of our trip...
It all started at 5:30 a.m. when we were awakened to a crash and a scream. Kathrynne had somehow climbed out of bed and slammed into the end table in the hotel room. Not only was the top of the table made with some type of hard marble-like substance, but it had a very sharp corner which she hit her head against near her eye. Jesse and I bounded out of bed in the pitch darkness not knowing exactly what we might find or whether stitches would be in order. Gratefully, there was just a minor gash and little blood. She was more shook up than anything. It took us almost 30 minutes to calm her and ourselves down and go back to sleep for a little while.
When I woke up again around 7:00 a.m. , I felt like a Mac truck had run over me almost. I was miserable. Near the end of the Marketing Meetings, the previous night, I had been sniffling and sneezing, but, by this morning, I had caught the full-blown bug and it was pinning me to the bed and keeping me from wanting to go anywhere. I knew we needed to leave shortly for the airport and I really needed to wear something other than pajamas on the plane, but at that point in time, I didn't particularly care.
With sheer determination, Jesse somehow got me to pull myself out of bed and into the shower and then I finished packing and we hurriedly lugged everything down to our rental car. I was pulling two suitcases, carrying a heavy bag, and holding Kathrynne, and with each step, I just knew I was going to drop the whole lot. Jesse, ever the gentleman, was carting down even more than me and walking at a much faster rate. We finally made it down the five stories and through the massive lobby (we got this incredible deal on a luxurious, albeit almost empty, hotel for the weekend. The only drawback was that it took a very long time to make it from our room to our car -- not good when you are pressed for time and carrying many pounds of luggage!).
We had to shove and push and re-arrange and shove and push some more to get all the luggage into our little rental car and we finally succeeded. In the process of getting all the luggage in properly, we just forgot one thing -- to buckle Kathrynne in. We didn't notice until halfway down the freeway we look back and there she was, standing up in her carseat, staring right back at us. Quite startling, especially since it was the first time anything like that had ever happened! I bounded over the seat and strapped her in securely -- or so I thought.
A little while later, we were still driving and she started crying a frustrated cry. I assumed it was just because she had tasted the freedom of not being buckled in and she didn't like the fact that she was no longer able to stand up. She continued to cry, but I didn't pay very much attention to it and we finally arrived at the rental car drop-off.
When I looked in the backseat to get Kathrynne out, horror swept across my face -- she had somehow finagled her way out of all the carseat straps and safety straps and had pummeled her body over the side of the carseat. She had almost gotten her entire body free -- except her head was still stuck in the seatbelt in this terribly awkward position. No wonder she had been crying in frustration! Now I felt like the worst mom ever -- my child had had two traumatic experiences in one day, and it was only 9:30 a.m. !
We struggled to unload our packed little car, all the while I continued to feel worse and worse. We made it through check-in and security without further ado (and that's saying a lot these days -- especially with a baby and stroller and all our luggage) and I plopped in the nearest chair at our gate. Jesse realized that I was fading fast and he proceeded to go through all of our carry-on bags looking for some form of Ibuprofen. Finding none, he had to go back through security to find a shop that carried some (Oh, and I forgot to say that all our running around in the morning was in vain -- our plane departure was 45 minutes later than we thought it was supposed to be!).
After Ibuprofen, orange juice, and Sprite, I was much revived for the next few hours and our first flight was over. As we got ready to board our next flight, though, the medicine and sugar had worn off, and I was worse than ever. We got on the plane very last so that we didn't have to be on any longer than possible since I was in such pathetic shape. Then the unthinkable happened -- mechanical problems. We waited for about 25 minutes on the plane in what seemed like utterly stifling heat. I knew I was going to pass out right then and there. I just kept praying that God would give me grace and strength because I certainly didn't have any left.
We ended up changing planes to endure what will go down in my history book as my worst flight ever. Not only was I miserably sick, I was running a high fever, and the congestion made my entire head feel like it was going to burst open. Kathrynne, usually of a very happy disposition, and normally a good traveller, fussed almost the enture plane ride. In addition, we encountered a lot of turbelence. Never was I so glad to finally make it to the ground. Only problem was, my ears had plugged up and it took over a day for me to be able to hear somewhat normally again. Oh well, we finally made it to the car with all our luggage, only made one wrong turn on the way home, and I crashed into bed the moment we walked into our home. Our eventful day was over and I could sleep at last!
Or so I thought our eventful day was over... little did I know that the very worst thing was yet to be found out!
The next day, while I was still moaning in bed with a high fever, we got a phone call from the airline for me. I said I couldn't talk and Jesse took the call. After a few seconds, he gave me the craziest look and said, "They have your wallet."
Come to find out, somehow, my wallet had fallen out of one of our bags at the airport and someone had graciously turned it in. In it were all my ID's, check cards for both our business and personal accounts, and much more. Whoever found it could have had access to thousands of dollars at their fingertips. Yet, God put it on their heart to turn it in.
And we didn't even know we had lost it! I thought I was having a "bad" day -- but I would have felt much worse if I had known that my wallet was missing. Instead, we didn't realize it until God had already taken care of it for us.
Even though I was feeling so sick, and so many things seemed to be going wrong, God was still watching out for us and protecting us. What a comfort that was to me!
Maybe my "terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day," wasn't so bad after all.
Crystal Paine is a 24-year-old homeschool graduate from Topeka, Kansas. She is the blessed wife of Jesse and joyful mother of Kathrynne. Visit her site, Biblical Womanhood, for books, articles, encouragement, and inspiration!
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