All I Want for Christmas Is . . .

for Randy to get here. Being a single mother is not something I particularly excel at. Oh, I could be tough and talk big and act like I've managed just fine in Randy's absence but the truth is, this big old house will not feel warm and toasty until he crosses the threshold. These last two weeks I have been "playing house," but when he pulls into our driveway it will finally feel like HOME. And let's all pause and utter a quick "Hallelujah!" as I can now confirm that he IS on the road driving in a southerly direction! Music, sweet music to my ears! Granted, he's only able to go about 50 miles an hour through the snow so he probably won't get here until mid- to late Sunday, and I'd gotten everyone's hopes at WW up that he might actually make an appearance at worship in the morning--that's what happens when I get ahead of myself. But still, he IS on the way!

Believe it or not, I do think God had His reasons for leaving me Randy-less in a new city for two weeks. I have attempted/accomplished things for myself that I long ago mentally labeled, "Randy's job." Oh, little things like establishing home, auto and health insurance--definitely NOT my forte; hooking up my home computer (except that I still can't get the speakers to work); and TALKING TO MIKE AT THE AT&T TECH SUPPORT CENTER FOR THE BETTER PART OF AN HOUR WHEN MY INTERNET SERVICE INEXPLICABLY AND FOR NO GOOD REASON STOPPED WORKING WHEN IT HAD BEEN WORKING JUST FINE THE DAY BEFORE, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Oh yes, that's what I said, people. How much more can a girl take?? It turned out to be a fairly simple problem, yet a problem nonetheless that no one but Mike could fix. Atta boy, Mike!

God also placed before me many opportunities to get out and about the big city of Arlington and allowed me, one of the most directionally-challenged people you'll ever meet, to get my bearings and find my way from Point A to Point B, even discovering a shortcut or two along the way without anyone's help! Oh yes, I'm proud of that one. There was actually an incident about a week ago that I promised my kids would find its way into my blog, and now seems like as good a time as any to recount the story.

Last week when there were still a lot of boxes needing to be unpacked and I was busy from dawn 'til dusk, I wasn't doing a lot of cooking. (That might also have been owing to the fact that I couldn't find my pots and pans, but that's neither here nor there.) So just a little bit after 5:00, I asked the kids if they wanted to run and get something to eat. Please don't ask me to explain it, but my kids have had a big-time hankering for Taco Bell and while I had not as yet seen a Taco Bell in this city, I knew it existed. They all clamored to "make a run for the border," so I told everyone to put on their socks and shoes and meet me at the van.

Two minutes later Darcy asked if she and Peyton could play in the front yard until I was ready. I said, "Sure." It took me a little while to locate Sawyer's tennis shoes because, again, boxes everywhere. Fifteen minutes later I straggled to the van and whistled for the kids to join me. Everybody climbed in and strapped their seat belts across their bodies, and it wasn't until we were backing out of the driveway that Peyton mentioned the fact that she wasn't wearing any shoes. Call me irrational but after a day of wading through boxes of stuff while the kids have been on an extended holiday and yes, at times have actually made my job more difficult, I have had my moments of crankiness and this was one such moment. In fact, the cranky felt like it had taken up residence deep inside my innermost being. "Why aren't you wearing shoes? I told you fifteen minutes ago to get your shoes! Well, we're not going back now. You'll just have to sit in the van while we eat our supper." Yeah, like I'm the kind of mom who would actually carry out that threat. All bark, no bite. But in my (I thought) self-righteous indignation, I bull-headedly continued south down Bowen, going farther and farther away from our house and all the while thinking, "What are you DOING, Andrea? You aren't going to leave her in the van! And yet, you can't take her in a restaurant if she's not wearing any shoes! Stop! Go back! Go back!" So I whipped a U-turn and headed back to the house, fuming at Peyton and telling her that this had better be the last time she gets in the van without her shoes.

Okay, maybe this was God stepping in again because as we headed back toward the house, Darcy said, "Mom, can I get my allergy medicine when we get home?" Darcy and Tyler's immune systems received quite a shock when we moved to Texas and are still adjusting, but in the meantime they both sound like threshing machines half the time. So while Peyton found her shoes, I found the allergy medicine and off we went--again. Next stop: TACO BELL! I had seen in the Yellow Pages that there were a number of TB locations on Pioneer Parkway, Green Oaks Blvd. and Cooper Street (okay, I might have made up that last one). But Pioneer and Green Oaks I'm familiar with, so I forged on confidently. Unfortunately, I didn't know in which direction to turn once we got to Pioneer Parkway. Details. I took a left and headed ALL THE WAY down the parkway until I got to Fielder, at which point I decided I must have chosen the wrong direction. No problem, I'll just turn around. (Bonus: I found a YMCA branch not too far from our house should we ever decide to become members.) So I headed west on the parkway and drove (feeling a little less confident) until we hit Green Oaks Blvd. Hmmm. What to do, what to do? Okay, since the Taco Bell on Pioneer Parkway never showed itself, we'll just go to one of the many (???) locations on Green Oaks. Gold!

Oh, but there's one little problem: Which direction to go on Green Oaks? Eeny-meenie-miney-moe . . . let's go south! We drove for MILES (okay, maybe 2-3) until I'd abandoned all hope of ever eating again, and proposed to the kids that perhaps we could eat at one of the dining establishments that we had actually passed in our foray. "No!" they insisted. "We have to go to Taco Bell!" Tyler even went so far as to declare that there was a Crunchwrap with his name all over it. "Well, if you're sure . . ." I hesitantly acquiesced. So I whipped the car around and headed north on Green Oaks, feeling more and more like a prisoner on Death Row who is trudging down the long hallway to his ultimate demise. This cannot be good. By this time it was around 6:30 or so, well over an hour since I'd suggested we "grab" something to eat. When will I ever learn? And I have to admit, the kids finally began losing hope when Tyler, recalling the Taco Bueno we'd passed on Pioneer Parkway, declared, "This is ALL YOUR FAULT, Mom! We could have been eating a half-hour ago, but no! YOU had to listen to US!" I laughed so hard I nearly lost control of the van!

Green Oaks reminds me a little bit of Columbus Street in Grove City (only Green Oaks is much, much bigger) in that just as Columbus St. turns into Stringtown Road, Green Oaks turns into Dottie Lynn Highway. And then it turns into Eastchase. Heck, it might lead to China, for all I know. But just when we'd lost all hope, driving out there on Dottie Lynn with its wide open spaces, suddenly lights appeared! And signs! And cars! And people! And, oh heavenly day, TACO BELL! And, oh my word, what is that? Hundreds and hundreds of crows! It was like a scene out of The Birds! Kinda cool in a creepy sort of way. Anyway, we fairly ran into Taco Bell and placed our order, same as always: A Crunchwrap for Tyler, three crunchy tacos for Darcy, two soft tacos each for Peyton and Sawyer, and whatever sounds good at the time for me--in this case, the Steak Quesadilla.

Now Peyton's stomach capacity for good, healthy food is somewhat small, while I believe her capacity for junk has untapped potential. She is "full" when her plate still has vegetables remaining, but there's always room for dessert! (Or anything else that she likes.) So not surprisingly, after Peyton had eaten her two tacos she claimed she was still starving. Since the soft tacos are what, only seventy-nine cents? I sent her back to the order counter to get herself another one. When she got back to the table she came bearing two dimes and a penny and . . . two soft tacos. "Why do you have TWO tacos? And change?!" "I don't know. The lady just gave me two." Remember the incident at Arby's? I'm going to let Peyton be in charge of the ordering from now on--she has obviously got a way with restaurant staff!