Throw a bunch of clothes in one suitcase.
Ask husband to check his prop box for glasses and other good disguises. He is a gold mine for this.
Throw a bunch of costume stuff in another suitcase.
Check to be sure GPS, cell phone, bluetooth and iPod are charged.
Arrange all of these devices within easy reach of driver's seat.
Kiss husband.
Go back in the house for briefcase with adoption 'work' folders.
Kiss husband again.
Drive north on I-5, stopping for coffee and two W*lmarts for sinus meds - sold only by prescription in Oregon so I have to cross the border to get my 12 hour generic Sud*fed. (I am not absolutely sure why bloggers put the "*" sign within proper names - something about internet searches - but I want to be cool too.)
Stop at T*rget and wander a bit just because I can.
Go to Adoption Ministry office in Puyallup and copy several thousand photos from the latest mission trip.
Get Liane and head for Yelm, WA to the adoptive moms retreat.
Drive-through St*rbucks for two venti decaf non-fat sugar-free lattes.
Plan a very lame ice-breaker skit in the car. We know what we think is funny but we're not sure what will actually be funny. We crack ourselves up but how fun is that to watch?
Arrive at the retreat center just in time for dinner.
Meet some incredible women.
Hear woman after woman introduce herself and tell how many children she has adopted (the one with the most had 25 children, 17 of whom were adopted. What??)
Become so flustered after hearing these introductions that when it was my turn, I said I had two children.
Turn four shades of red when my 'friend' Liane points out to the group that I have three.
Continue to embarrass myself by performing a skit where we couldn't remember the lines due to the fact that we had just come up with them hours earlier.
Saved by Liane's incredible ad-lib skilz.
Get a tour of our accommodations - an RV brought because I was a last-minute add-on. It proved to be a wonderful, private spot!
Saturday:
Spend most of the day in meetings with my boss, Joy Casey, going over upcoming work.
Leave at about 4:30 to pick up Karen and get out of town for the night!
Drive to Gig Harbor for dinner at The Tides on the water. Great food. Gorgeous view (sorry - no pics). Good conversation.
Keep driving out on the Key Peninsula to Bay Lake, where Karen's cabin is.
Stop at a little market to rent a movie. This is the kind of market that has lots of beef jerkey and beer up front. The kind where everyone else in line smelled like smoke. I'm just sayin'.
Arrive at the cabin, unload the car and start talking.
Keep talking until it is time to leave on Sunday. So much talking that we don't have time to watch the movie.
(The following are not current pictures because I didn't even think of taking any. These are from a previous visit but you get the idea.)
It was relaxing, refreshing and so much fun! I highly recommend getting away every now and then. I came away realizing:
a. I need to plan more FUN in my life
b. I am incredibly blessed in the area of friendships - blessed rotton! These women are my sisters in the best sense of the word.
c. I love getting home again.
If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
Eccl. 4:10
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