change in plans

This morning, I received an unexpected phone call for a favor.
As good fortune would have it, I was able to grant the request.
So far, so good, n'est-ce pas?
Then a thought (1) struck me and I sobbed.
That predicated me leaving my breakfast to blow my nose.
(Thanks, bfe, for the nice tissues! With the extraordinary pollen count this spring, I've gone completely through two boxes of the four, plus opened the other two. BTW, my experiments have shown that Puffs plus unequivocally beats Kleenex with lotion.)
Then another thought (2) came...and I again fell into puddles of tears.
That was partly thanks to "The Shiny Trinket Maneuver". I had been watching it yet again to accompany my morning meal. By this time, it had reached the part where Amy tells Penny how mad she is with her, "but we both know that won't last".
That's when I had burst into tears that second time.
More tissues, more nose-clearing, more gathering my senses back together.
Breakfast finished, television off, I was in the hall and caught sight of the four-generation photo of me, Mama, Grandmama and my first niece.
A third thought (3) leapt into view and I had to hold myself while I sobbed.

Now, here I am, making sense of the string of actions that led to my reactions.
But first, what was that phone call about?
Well, my Aunt Barbara called to see if she and I could meet and ride together to Bev's for Easter dinner tomorrow.
Uncle John has been rather sickly this year, so he wasn't going to be able to travel with her and he didn't want her to make the drive alone.
After all, she is 79 this year, as there were two years between her and Daddy.
(He would have been 81 on April 7th.)
So, as she knew I had been interested in going to Bev's for this Sunday, she had called to ask for the favor.
She had known of my interest because I had interjected myself into the facebook conversation between her and her granddaughter Robbie. Robbie was not going to be able to attend Easter dinner because of work obligations. That's when I had piped up to see where the dinner was to be. Aunt Barbara's in Glennville? The reply had been, "no, at Bev's in Augusta and your cousin Bonnie will be there, too."
Cool beans! As Bonnie had been living in Hawaii, I had not yet met her. She and her husband were now living in Tallahassee and were making the drive.
Would I be going, too?
Well, I sure did want to! I had missed not going in November for Thanksgiving.
And I had missed not seeing the paternal side of my family during the Christmas holidays.
This visit would certainly help mend that hole in my psyche.
I told Aunt Barbara I would call Bev to make sure it would be okay for me to crash her dinner.
And I did call!
And she had answered the phone as if she had been standing by it waiting for me!
(smile)
All of that was on Wednesday.
I had just happened to be on the social media site at the right time to catch the conservation.
I was at Armstrong and between classes and had done a "touch and go" mission there.
Wednesday is usually a busier day for me, with office hours, 1152 lecture, and 1152 lab, all starting at 3 PM.
This time, I had finished the "gly- and glu-" lecture faster than anticipated, giving me a little break before lab. I actually took advantage of the free time and called Bev right then.
i thank You, God!
That call at the right time perked up both of us!

Yesterday, I had worked with Smitty to catch up the last two months of sales taxes and invoices. (We had also worked on the payroll and first quarter taxes, accomplishing all in right at three hours. Whew!)
I told him about my Easter in Augusta plans and cousin Bonnie being there. Then we chatted about stepmom Bonnie and the grandsons and about her son Michael and troubles with his ex. That led into talk of our brother Ronnie, of course, as well as of Tony.
I floated the idea out there of visiting with cousin Sharon on this trip, too.
He had told me to give all greetings from him!
Then I had raced home to make some late lunch. It was at the right time for me to enjoy an hour of "The Family Feud" with my meal, then maybe catch a movie. Hooray!

And that was mostly what happened...but I had checked my Armstrong email and seen that a collection of one-act plays from students would be performed - and it was free for all to attend!
I had sent the text message alert to Barbara, Sandy, Jackie, and JinHi, then headed off to see "Power Rangers" at the former Carmike (now AMC Classic 10).
The confusion about the new process added to the line delay at the cinema. I missed both the intended movie as well as my back-up plan, "The Case For Christ". Noticing that most of the folks in front had chosen "The Fate of the Furious", I did, too.
After all, I find it difficult to resist Vin Diesel or The Rock, and this movie had both!
(smile)
I was there at the right time to catch the start of the race in Cuba. I didn't even bother to sit down until it was done! Great opening scene!

Afterward, running late, I easily joined Barbara at Jenkins Hall.
She told me she had sat where she did so I could find her...in Mama's seat.
Nice!
There were only three plays. One was about cigarettes, with four young women speaking of the attraction, the types, the perils - very good! Then there was "Beer Girl", created by a despondent young man when his girlfriend left him - very funny! The last was of new friendship between two fellow thespians: a young woman and a young man whose sickly younger sister had died - very dramatic.
After, I had suggested dinner at Carrabbas.
Why?
Because I knew Barbara had a $10 coupon for this month that she needed to use.
And so that is where we dined, with her able to splurge on the special on lamb chops.
Good deal!
We had talked about my Easter plans and my having maternal and paternal cousins in two towns now. Then she talked of her cousin Penny in Tallahassee (what a coincidence!) and now we have plans to go there this year for Thanksgiving.
Sah-weet!
(smile)
By this time, it was after ten. Too late to call Sharon! No worries. As I told my youngest brother, I would just call her on Saturday morning about visiting!

Then Aunt Barbara had called for her favor.
I had assured her that I would meet her where I-16 and GA-301 intersect, then I settled in for coffee and omelet and my boys of physics.
Thought (1) popped into my head: Daddy had set this up to help his sister.
No sooner had I recovered from that session of tears than Thought (2) flew in: Mama had set this up. Who better than Aunt Barbara's best friend to arrange to help her out?
More salty tears flowed down my face.
Then I remembered a line from yesterday's movie while looking at my photo wall.
Thought (3) flashed in and overwhelmed me: did Grandmama set up these coincidences? Had Grandpa also been involved? Had the two of them worked with Mama (on me) and Daddy (on his sister) to make sure she and I would be there for each other?
Because, regardless of my assurances to others that I can do distance-driving again, I'm still a little shaky about it. Now, I don't have to be concerned about overtaxing my "new and improved" left hand.
Plus, I'll have this opportunity to get to know Aunt Barbara better.
That will be good, as we have so much in common.
Didn't you know?
The hypothyroidism, the lactose intolerance, the moles - she has all of that, too.
Mama did not.

I had thought of driving up today to Augusta, to visit cousin Sharon.
Now, I'll save that for another weekend.

Interesting how plans change.

i thank You, God.

Now, to see about attending a Celebration of Garlic Day at Christa's with my Caroline girls and dos of las tres amigas.
Hooray!