Joshua's Week at TR

This has been a busy week for Joshua. He went to Therapeutic Recreation (TR) 3 days this week, and had a fun time with his friends.

On Tuesday, they drove down to Lake DeGray in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. That's our old stompin' grounds. Jim and I first met when I was a freshman at Ouachita Baptist University, and he was a freshman at Henderson State University...both located in the very small town of Arkadelphia, just across the street (ravine) from each other.

They got to go on a boat tour on the lake, and then had lunch at the lodge. I got to the Center to pick Joshua up and waited and waited. Finally, he texted me to say, "we leaving now. be there 1 hour 15 minutes."

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

Parents were pulling up right and left, and I had to go tell them all that the friends were going to be late. Not gonna lie, I was a little frustrated at that point, because while most of the other families live in town, we live 35 minutes away...and now I was going to have to drive in 5 o'clock traffic and it was going to take for-ev-er for us to get home.

But frustration turned to concern reallllll quick when we got a call that one of the vans had broken down on the side of the interstate.

Van full of FRIENDS...on the side of the road...OF THE INTERSTATE...in rush hour traffic.

Yes, I was more than a little concerned.

But Mrs. Sherrie and Alanna, and a couple of other helpers/moms, had it all under control. We sent a mom with a van to pick up a few of the friends and bring them back to the center. The friends kept each other calm, and the ones who were left piled into the one big van...and headed back to meet up with their families.

Oh there were stories to tell!

When they got back to the Center, I asked one of the friends, "was everyone calm or were y'all freaking out?" She said, "yeah...I freaked out. It was me. I did it. I'm sorry."

HAHAHAHAHAHA.

We were so proud of how the friends worked together to stay safe and keep most everyone calm.

On Wednesday, the friends went to the zoo. It was a beautiful day! I think they had a really fun time. That was the day he told me, "I saw an elephant...it reminded me of you."

Good times.

And then on Thursday, the friends went to a local community garden. On their tour, they got to see what all is grown there...lettuce, broccoli, carrots, collard greens, etc. The group was asked if they liked any of those things. Joshua announced to everyone that "broccoli tastes good, but it smells like feet."

So there's that.

They also had a few animals there: baby ducks, baby turkeys, baby goats. The baby goats were a BIG HIT with the friends. Of course, baby ANYTHING is always a hit. Joshua also said they had a baby donkey that they all got to pet.

Such a fun week. Of course, just to keep everyone grounded, there was drama among the friends. With a bunch of girls and only a few guys, there is always drama...sometimes more than others. This week was more than others. And it's exhausting because no amount of logic can make things clear. And while the friends typically are very pure and innocent in how they think, they can also be little stinkers. Just sayin'.

And Joshua and Jenni have been a couple for TEN YEARS but apparently several of the other girls at TR think he is also THEIR boyfriend, and you can just imagine that didn't go over well with Jenni and what is that saying, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Yeah. That.

But next week is the last week of TR for the summer, and where there was drama and tears and words said and hurt feelings this week...there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth at the thought that they won't all be together just like this until the fall.

"Bless the LORD, o my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name." Psalm 103:1