| What could be simpler???! |
I have no excuse.
I'll let you judge . . .
A woman in our church group, whom I had
never met, had just given birth to a tiny, sweet preemie girl.
She had two other children.
And a husband.
I offered to surprise them with dinner.
An easy and painless way to help out.
I made a pot of soup.
Fresh rolls.
And a salad.
Packing everything into a box, I got
into the truck and headed out.
Now, I should mention here that I live
in a small town.
I've lived in this same small town for
nearly a quarter of a century.
Yes, it has grown.
A lot.
But it is still my home town.
And it takes three minutes to drive
from one end to the other.
On a busy day.
Twenty minutes later, I was still
driving around, looking for this sister's address.
Finally, almost tearful with
frustration, I broke down and called her, begging for directions.
“I'm right across the street from
Beau Meadow School,” she said. “You can't miss the house. It's
brightly lit and there is a 'For Sale' sign in the front yard.”
Now, in our town, that particular
school is on what we call the 'ring road'.
It makes a circuit of the entire town.
Meandering through all four quadrants.
It is the quickest way to anywhere.
This woman was on it.
I live just off it.
Our houses were, quite literally, one
minute apart.
I finally pulled up to the described
house, shut off my truck and carried my now-tepid-meal to the front
door.
And realized something.
Not only was this house almost within spitting distance of mine.
But it was a house my son and his
family had recently outgrown and sold.
After having lived there for over three
years.
I had been in and out of it for that
entire time.
I knew it almost as well as I knew my
own.
I knew where it was.
And how to get there.
And where to park.
I could have told anyone how to find
it.
Only one thing was missing.
I had never noted the address.
See?
No excuse.
