Unfortunately, Old Wahoo experienced a Griswold moment on the way back from our family's spring break trip. During a restroom and lunch break at a McDonald's, my youngest son, in desperate need of a nap, kicked off his shoes while throwing a mini-tantrum. While Mrs. Wahoo struggled with the Moose, I picked up the shoes while I also took care of three bags of Happy Meals and fries.
We pack the kids away without further incident, and after eating lunch, two of the three boys fall asleep. Mission accomplished, right? Well, when we came to our next rest stop three hours later, we could not find the shoes, and when we arrived home later that evening, the shoes still could not be found.
Finally, the next day as I unloaded groceries from the back of the van, I found one shoe wedged in the luggage rack atop the car. Alas, the other shoe still was missing.
Since leaving the shoes on top of the car was definitely a Griswold moment, I have tried to shake it off and look for the bright side, just like Clark W. did in the movies.
Sure, I lost my son's favorite (and best) pair of shoes, but imagine how amazing it is that one shoe made the 428-mile trek from Berkeley Springs, W.Va., to Detroit.
And yes, I did leave the shoes on top of the car, but it could have been worse. I could have left my coffee there, or the portable DVD player, and either one of those calamities could have made the trip unbearable. A friend also said it would have been worse to leave a kid on top of the van.
Or, as Clark Griswold did, I could have left the dog tied to the bumper.
We actually left a car seat on top of a car and drove off. It was one of those old plastic shells and no, there was no kid in it. Probably because I was holding him/her in my arms. We wondered why all those people in a restaurant parking lot in Illinois were waving at us.
ReplyDeleteGood story, Beryl. I wonder if people were waving to us at the McDonald's? Obviously, I was in a different world.
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