Our Ride!

"OH MY GOSH!!!" I exclaimed from the backseat of our rented Tahoe..."The only thing I'm not going to get on this trip is saddle sore, I feel like I am on a horse!!!"  I was scrunched and munched and folded and bent in all kinds of ways that this 48year old body hasn't been in in a long long time....But you know what? I LOVED IT! It was so much fun to have all six of us in the same rig, laughing and talking and joking around!  We were on the freeway in the middle of Wyoming when I made that proclamation and we were bumping along, clippity cloppity and I was feeling a bit rummy....yep, you guessed it, I got worse by the end of the trip.  In order to get out of our seats Connie and I would have to wait for the person sitting directly in front of us, on the passenger side middle seat door side, to get out and then reach back, lift the seat and then pull it forward, then Connie would sort of slide out of her seat and I would fight to get my shoes on and then crawl out of the hole I sat in to Connies now unoccupied seat and then on to the floor where I also would slide out of the car. John usually stood by to offer his hand of assistance...

We had had some very very long days, having dads service on Monday the 18th, dealing with all the emotions of the day and then packing up to leave that night and head out to Palmer, his home and the bank, drop Carol and Cecil off at the airport and then on to Uncle Larry's a good 6 hours away, after all that stuff, we were tired, we were hungry and we were out in the Nebraska boonies.  No kidding, the BOONIES!  When you go outside, you see for miles and miles and miles.  We all crawled out of the Tahoe, me getting out last, with Johns help once again and amidst much groaning and moaning by all.   Uncle Larry was out there in the yard with his great big smile and hug, to greet us.  I shut the door and rounded the car and as I did, suddenly we heard this clicking sound and the headlights flashed! We all looked at each other, like, HUH???? What the...Jim, who had been driving reached out for the drivers door and pulled the knob, nope, it didn't open.  He said, "um, the keys are inside."  We all stood there staring at each other, in TOTAL shock, COMPLETE dismay and UTTER disbelief!  Oh my gosh, what are we going to do?  some one asked. Uncle Larry was trying to be all welcoming and cheerful and we just couldn't even figure out how to react or what to do.  We had four big suitcases on top but the entire back, behind the seat was full of luggage and everything I had brought, except the clothes on my back, were in that rig!  We went inside and stared at each other a little bit more until Larry and his wife Margaret came up with the idea to call the local sheriff, their closest neighbor (the way I understand it) a mere 6 miles away.  He calls the guy up and asks him if he could come by, the sheriff agrees and comes over to the house (during the meal) and they all work at opening up the rig.  I was standing in the window of the office where the computer is, Penny was looking up the number for Enterprise and I whispered a prayer that the cops slim jim would find its mark and open the door.  In that moment it did! A cheer went up on the lawn and wonderful order was restored!  We quickly unloaded the car and settled in for a nights entertainment with Larry and Margaret singing some fun songs and the rest of us joining in on the old hymns.  It was a great night.  As we lay in bed that night, Jim and Connie and John and I sharing a room and Penny and Richard in the one right next door and with the door open we could all talk, we began laughing and got a little bit giddy with just being still for awhile and in a quiet place,  It was great fun.

Something that happened in the middle of this whole episode that I had actually forgotten about until Connie mentioned it to me today?  When Uncle Larry made that phone call, he did something extremely simple and natural and polite... he said, "sheriff, this is Larry Hopkins" and in that very moment, both Connie and I felt the same sharp thing in our hearts.  Wow, is THAT what our name sounds like when you are a man?  I know I know that sounds very weird but to hear him say his name, it was just so strange and almost painful. It was, well, it was somehow very life affirming. Yes, that is who we are, the Hopkins girls and yes, there IS another Hopkins....I still feel this deep yearning when I think of it and now I know why Penny said she wants Penny Hopkins Wonenberg on her headstone...yep, I get it now.  Uncle Larry will never really probably understand the connection that our hearts have with him, the fact that he carries the hearts of five girls who mourn so much loss and that he is the connection to the man we loved so much, the only uncle we have left, the only blood uncle we have at ALL....It blows my mind.  

So, the Tahoe...well, we sort of grew to hate it in the end but it was such a blessing and such a great trip, in spite of all the sadness and the grief, much laughter, much fun was had in that vehicle. I shall try to include a photo on here later of us, inside.

This might make some of you smile, but I so want to invite my sweet husband to blog on here for me, with me...he is one of the "lurkers" on here and I think it would be great to have him "say" a little something!  Yep, thats what I said, John is gonna blog the next one....maybe even in a few minutes, who knows!?