No Wonder I’m Lost

This week Hubs is attending a business conference in the Big City. It’s the same city where we spent our honeymoon so we were thrilled to find out that I could join him later in the week. Hubs left for the City today. The plan, as I understand it, is that I will leave Son in the capable and indulgent care of his grandparents and drive to the City in the afternoon. Hubs will have meetings to attend, but I assured him that somehow I would manage to keep myself entertained until he’s finished. I’m noble that way, you know. There is no sacrifice I won't make for the man I love. Hmmm, what to do, what to do? Well, I’m sure something will come to me as I wander through all those little shops and art galleries with my credit card.

Hubs has been a trifle concerned about me making the trip by myself. While it’s true that I have visited the Big City many times, I have never actually driven there by myself. It's also true that I can get lost in my own closet. So his concern is not unwarranted.

Usually when Hubs is away on business I miss him terribly. But today he has already spent more time talking to me on the phone than he would if he were still in town. And what is the purpose of these calls you ask? Why to make sure I know how to get there of course!

It’s actually kind of sweet that he is so concerned. Annoying, and a bit insulting, but sweet. Well it was sweet the first two or three times he called. After that I started to feel like a five-year-old on the first day of school. “Now are you SURE you can make it, Honey? Because if you need help, I can send someone for you. Maybe that would be best. Should I arrange for someone to drive you? I can send a car. Would you like me to send a car?”

How did I become this helpless? Should I pin a note on my blouse with an "If found please return to..." message on it? His last call came a few minutes ago, giving me detailed instructions on how to get there. And when I say detailed, I mean DETAILED.

“All right, first you go through the canyon and you stay on that road until you get to the crossroads. If you turn right, you’ll see that restaurant your Dad took us to. You remember they had the really dry chicken and the vegetables were undercooked?”

“Yes, I remember that place. So I turn right?”

“No, that’s just what you’ll see if you do.”

“Okay, so I turn left?”

“Yes, turn left and you’ll see the highway that goes past the reservoir and you stay on that road until you reach an intersection. If you go left you’ll see a housing development. You remember, the one where all the houses are so close together that you said you could never live there because you wouldn’t be able to play the piano after nine p.m. without disturbing the whole neighborhood?”

“Sure, I remember that. Okay so I turn there?”

“No, you’ll want to go right. You’ll see the old cemetery. You know, the one on the way to the shopping district.”

“Shopping district?”

“Yeah, the one where you bought all those books?”

“Of course. So…I want to go past the cemetery?”

“Yes.”

“And I’ll see the shopping district?”

“No, if you see the shopping district you’ve gone too far.”

“All right. Then what?”

“Well then you should see a huge hotel up on the mountain. There’s another hotel next to it with a waterfall.”

“Is that where you are?”

“No, it’s just really huge, you should check it out. The waterfall is kind of cool.” I was trying not to get frustrated as I kept writing down instructions and crossing them out.

“Honey? Here’s an idea. Why don’t you just tell me where I’m actually going rather than where I’m NOT going?”

“Well, I’m just trying to give you accurate instructions,” he huffed.

After going over the instructions one more time, I thanked him graciously and told him I look forward to seeing him. In the time since I began this post he has called two more times. If this doesn’t stop I’m not going to get to miss him at ALL during this trip.

But at least I’m sure I’ll be able to find him. And lest I sound ungrateful for his assistance, be assured that I'm very grateful for his desire to help. He took a lot of time to make notes about it all. And I'm grateful for the directions. I even wrote some of them down. I may even use them. You know, if, for whatever reason, I decide I need to know where I’m NOT going and what I'm NOT seeing. Also? My notes will be easily accessible. After all, I wrote them down on the back of the printout I made of the easy to follow map I downloaded from Map Quest.