Super Mom

You think I'm referring to myself, don't you?  Not even close.  

I'm referring to this fine lady here, my own mom:

Taken in Poland when she came to visit us

My mom truly is Super Woman.  She is never easily deterred from her objective... when she makes up her mind to do something, nothing can stop her (not even a speeding bullet).  

 Recently she exhibited her super hero powers once again.  You see, I was supposed to drive out to Utah last Tuesday with the girls... In my six years of marriage, California is the closest to home I've ever lived, but it's still not that close... yeah, a 15 hour drive.  Ben is in school and couldn't travel out with me and the girls, so my mom insisted that she fly out and help me with the drive.  I unabashedly accepted her offer  (the thought of driving alone with the girls for 15+ hours makes me hyperventilate).  

So, the plan was simple, she was to fly to Monterey Monday night and we were to hit the road Tuesday morning.  HOWEVER, Monday night she called me from the SLC airport.  Her flight to Colorado (where she was connecting) was delayed THREE hours because of weather, and thus it would be impossible to make her flight to Monterey.  After exhausting all possibilities with a United representative,  the best option for her was to fly to Colorado that night, spend the night IN THE AIRPORT, then depart at 6 a.m. to San Francisco and take a connecting flight to Monterey, arriving at 9:15 a.m.  I tried to talk her out of it. "Why don't you just go home and let me drive on my own?  I'll be fine.  It's not worth all this hassle." I knew I was wasting my breath because that's not my mom's style.  Like I said, she's not easily deterred. 

So, my poor mother, who is turning 60 this year (sorry Mom) spent the night in an airport.  She wandered around asking several United people if there was anywhere to sleep.  Did they have a cot for her?  Or a blanket?  She was denied again and again.  I told her to go to the USO where there is a nice lounge for military families.  Closed.  It was late and she was tired and guess who helped her?   A kind little Hispanic cleaning lady.  She showed her a cupboard BEHIND THE TICKET COUNTER where a cot was stored.  She even found her a blanket.  So, my mom spent a restless night behind the ticket counter sleeping on a cot.  She awoke about 5:00 a.m. to the sound of vacuum cleaners and passengers lining up for their flight.  

It's ok to laugh.  

She tried to make a "smooth" exit, you know, just casually emerged from behind the ticket counter and made a beeline out of there.

So, after receiving very little sleep, she was able to fly to SF at 6 a.m.  From there she got on a little bitty plane headed to Monterey.  You wouldn't think her luck could be any worse. But, it was. The pilot came over the PA and asked excitedly, "Who wants to go to Monterey?"  All the passengers cheered.  Then he said, "Well, I wish I could take you there, but I can't.  Monterey is covered in fog and no planes will be landing there this morning." Nice way to handle it, don't you think?

I couldn't believe it when my mother called to tell me this.  And yet, she was still undeterred.  "Well, I'm talking to the United representative and just think about this: I could fly to Sacramento and then... yada yada yada."

I said, "Mom, don't get on anymore planes!  I will come pick you up!"  And that's what I did.  Made a small detour to the SF airport and picked the poor lady up on the curb and headed straight out to Utah.  Does she not deserve to be called Super Woman?

So, a few quick highlights from our road trip:

*Pulling over to help Emily pee on the shoulder of the San Francisco freeway with bumper to bumper traffic.

*Driving across the bay bridge... so beautiful. 

*Spending the night at my dear friend Tawny's cabin in Tahoe (we were missionary comps)

*Seeing a huge hungry black bear not 20 yards from us in Tahoe... I was totally freaking out because C could easily be mistaken for a bunny rabbit.  

*Driving hundreds of miles across the Nevada desert.  That has to be ranked the worst drive in the world.  It is so hot and soooo long and sooooo boring.

*Listening to my daughters argue over which movie to watch... C was adamant it be Finding Nemo, while Em had a panic attack since she deathly afraid of sharks.  I was not an effective conflict mediator so nasty meltdowns ensued.  And to top it off, they didn't nap the entire day until we hit SLC at 8:00 p.m.

*And of course, arriving to Utah Valley.  As we drove into my mother's neighborhood we found ourselves behind a Honda Odyssey with a Y decal in the window and an I Heart Nauvoo bumper sticker.  It seems the culture shock is more severe every year.