Previous Spring Break updates: here, here, here, here, here.
So, I may have mentioned that Aaron-the-son-in-law went home early from the beach in one of our vehicles. We knew we were going to need 2 vehicles to get all of us AND OUR STUFF to the beach comfortably. We decided to take my Honda Pilot, and Clark's Toyota Camry...because the rest of the kids' cars are kind of...ummm...OLD. And, ummm...unreliable. And to save wear-and-tear on their vehicles. So when Aaron left, he took the Camry, and the rest of us came home in the Pilot.
Which, with Logan and Morgan staying at the beach with her family, and not having Aaron, it just left 5 of us. And a BUNCH of stuff.
We all got in the Pilot, but we were pretty much packed in there like sardines. We drove the 30 or so miles from the condo...to the closest Chick-Fil-A for breakfast. It's a tradition that we stop there...unless we leave on a Sunday. And even tho it had only been 30 minutes, we FELL out of the car when we got there like we'd been on a 10 hour trip already.
Well, THAT'S not gonna be good.
We drove until Magee, Mississippi, and we stopped for lunch at McDonald's. We all sat together at a little round booth. It was good to be out of the car and stretch. At some point after lunch. Joshua got up to head to the bathroom before we piled back into the car. I don't care how old he gets or how much people...even those in my family...think I'm over-reacting, but I worry every time he heads into a public bathroom by himself. And I struggle with how to let him be independent, but also be safe. But before I could discretely ask any of the boys to go with him, Jim walked that way. I sat at the table and waited.
Joshua came back first. He never takes a drink in the car, but this time, he picked up his cup and headed to get a re-fill. The self-serve drink station was out of my sight, but right behind us. I remembered seeing a mop come under the booth from behind us, while I was waiting on everyone to get done in the bathroom. At the exact same time I remembered the mop, a man that was sitting across from us while we ate, tapped me on the shoulder. He said, "he fell," and nodded toward the drink station. All I could think of was Joshua...did he hit his head? His neck? I never heard a sound and he was right behind me.
A nice older man was holding onto Joshua when I flew around the corner. Joshua was shaken, but fine. The floor was wet and slick, and there was one of those yellow "caution: wet floor" signs...Joshua just didn't see it in time, and before he knew it, he was going all "Risky Business" across the floor.
We got back in the car, and Holly took over driving.
You.can.not.imagine how much movement Joshua does in the car.
Usually he's in the way back seat on the driver's side. That's "his" place...he likes it there. He packs his stuff around him and makes his little nest. And because he is back there, his little quirks and habits don't really bother us.
After lunch, we switched places and Holly drove. Jim sat in the front passenger seat, and I sat in the back, with Joshua in the middle, and Clark on the other side. We decided to watch a movie, because Joshua started doing his "tongue-flossing" thing. This involved him using his tongue to get the food out of his teeth. The mouth noises alone can jump-start a vomit for even the ones with the strongest stomachs. He is typically unaware of what he is doing during this time, but it drives Holly crazy. And she was driving.
I have found that it's best if the driver doesn't go crazy while he or she is driving.
So, Joshua chose a movie, and Clark went to sleep. And then THIS is what went on:
Joshua put his headphones on, and every 10 minutes or so...he would take them off and rub his ears and head...and then he would put them back on. He would cough and clear his throat...and then he would take a drink and clear his throat again. He would then adjust his shirt and seat-belt. He leaned back and to one side and reached inside his jean pocket for his hanky. He wiped his nose, eyes and mouth with his hanky and he looked at it...and then folded his hanky up, leaned back and to one side again...and put it back in his pocket. Then, he leaned down to reach his backpack that was on the floor by his feet. He unzipped the side pocket and got out his mouth spray. ziiiiiiip. He squirted twice into his mouth. He put the mouth spray back in the side pocket and zipped it back up. ziiiiiiip. He adjusted his shirt and seat-belt.
(sigh)
Then, he took his headphones off...and put them back on...and took them off...and put them back on. Coughed, cleared his throat, got a drink. He did the hanky thing again. He did the shirt/seat-belt thing again. ziiiiip. Did the mouth spray thing. ziiiiip. Did the shirt/seat-belt thing.
57 THOUSAND TIMES.
Not even kidding.
And, throw in the fact that when he wasn't watching the movie, he would lean over to open his backpack. He would take out his journal and a pen, and then write maybe TWO WORDS...and put it all back in his backpack. He did this MULTIPLE TIMES.
GET ME OUT OF HERE.
"Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other..." 1 Peter 4:8
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