Yes, that's the word that usually defines my relationship with the hubby. Today was just another ordinary case of WTF. Our son was invited to a birthday party of a friend in TN, of course he wanted us to take him there, but needed us to conveniently disappear because his girlfriend was there as well. I put the address in the GPS.
339 KELWEN PRIVATE DR (address made up so you don't stalk the poor folks)
Off we go.
It is a nice family drive of us telling the boys to look out the window of the car at all the amazing sights of TN:
Look! There's a guy walking by the side of the highway with no shirt and his butt crack hanging out!
Look, can you believe they fit that many cars in their front yard.
Look! Anyone want a "meat and three" for lunch?
Along with the Look! There's Bristol Motor speedway!
Look at how soft the mountains are!
What should have been a 45 minute drive turns into an hour and a half as we turn on this lonely road climbing a mountain.
Should we be climbing a mountain? Maybe the lake is on the other side.
Wow, that's a lot of trailers, the son says nervous.
Look at all the barbed wire fence, and big dogs, the other son says.
I'm remaining calm, thinking maybe we have to go through the drug neighborhood getting to the lake on the other wide, but the GPS says, "You have arrived at your destination."We look at the run down mobile home, fenced with dogs barking, confederate flag, old toilet sitting in a pile of garbage in the driveway. I check the text message again,
339 KELWENS PRIVATE DRIVE.
I look at the sign. 339 KELWEN PRIVATE DRIVE.
That's when my hubby looks at me, "Did you forget the S?" The curtains in the mobile home move probably someone deciding if they needed the shotgun or not.
Uh.
He doesn't scream. He quickly throws the car in reverse as one child says, "look their front door is opening" and we get out of there. I add the "S" to the address and we are 45 minutes BEYOND where we are supposed to go.
Love means being totally pissed off with your wife's "WTF" moment, quietly driving the extra 45 minutes back to 336 KELWENS PRIVATE DRIVE. Sure you could cut the silence with a knife, but it was better than beating on the steering wheel and yelling.
We pull in and the group of 8 14yr olds are getting ready to go out on the boat, our son looking at us like, "You can disappear now" as he jumps in the boat putting his arm around his girlfriend. We watch the boat pull off, the hubby saying, "Well we gave him confidence, now didn't we?"
We plan on going to Abington VA, visiting a restaurant, hiking, just killing time until the birthday party is over, but our hosts have other plans.
"Oh no. You are not leaving. We were just making cocktails." They grab for the truck keys. I don't know these people. But a lake, a boat, and the word cocktails, hell, I'm in. Hubby looks at me, shrugs, love means just going for it and being pleasantly surprised in the end.
We relax on the dock, then when we mention we were going someplace for lunch, they do what most Southerners do, "Oh, we'll just put you in the boat and motor over to the marina." This is said matter of fact, there is no choice, you are going to have fun whether you want to or not.
I am reminded how couples do it together as we sit and visit with people we hadn't plan on meeting when we woke that morning.
"Honey, remember we're going to that BBQ later, don't drink a lot you don't want to peak before the party." A new word for me as I laugh, peak. Ha ha, I thought that meant nap time. I think back to times at the Skybar when my hubby says, "Don't forget we're supposed to go to Greg's for dinner tonight." Oh, and I might have peaked.
"He was cutting the lawn with the zero turn mower and wanted to cut LOVE in for me, but all he got was the L. I knew what he meant." Sweet sentiments, I still have our wedding certificate where he got my name wrong and my age because he was nervous.
Usually in our time together, I'm caught saying, "Oh crap. Did I screw up again?" Love means not saying, "YES!" just quietly undoing any damage done. Usually this entails something fun in the end.
We laugh, enjoying time on the boat, the day warm but a nice breeze makes it comfortable. Our other son is playing in all the leftover childlike fun of a house at the lake, cleaning out a tree house, hitting golf balls, jumping off the dock.
Our host pulls out a bottle of 15 year old unfiltered bourbon, my hubby whispering to me, "That's a 425 dollar bottle of bourbon." Opens it for a taste, we're shocked.
"Friends have been giving us this every year for staying at our home during Bristol races. Our friends come over and we can drink it in a night, didn't know it was the good stuff. We're used to the cheap stuff."
Wife looks at hubby, "We're not going to the BBQ now are we." She looks at me sighing, "When you are together for a long time, it is just too tiring getting irritated with the things that used to get you irritated." Wise words, my friend, wise words.
Love is recognizing that plans change and rather than fighting it, just going for it. We settle tasting one of the best bourbons I've ever had, enjoying the company of two strangers now friends.
The boat comes back and all the kids get into Ultimate Frisbee, I watch my son and his girlfriend sitting on the deck, talking and holding hands. Love is those quiet times just being together.
We stay as long as we can, telling both disappointed boys it really was time to go. My son and girlfriend walk to our car out of sight, I know is his first kiss. I sigh. Love is remaining calm and happy remembering your first kiss.
On our drive home, one son exhausted from playing, the other with a slight smile on his face, my hubby driving, the Super Moon appears, I think, well, today certainly did not turn out the way I expected. We learned new things about Tennessee, Google Maps, check your addresses, what a good bourbon tastes like, and witnesses our son's first kiss! Plan B was never so exciting.
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