My first OB appointment was scheduled for Wednesday morning this week. Considering past experience (showing up for an appointment alone, expecting heartbeats and congratulations and instead getting news of a miscarriage), I made sure to give Tim the option of being along for this appointment. After having been through it once, I was confident I would survive if there was bad news, but I thought I'd let Tim make the decision himself. So he arranged for our neighbor to come over and stay with the kids so that he could be with me.
Within seconds of coming through the door, I had totally caught the nurse off guard and unintentionally changed the mood in the exam room. The standard first question for all pre-natal OB visits is: "How are you feeling?" When I answered, "Nervous," Nurse Linda was a little more than confused. Although I always attempt honesty, I didn't mean to throw her off. So then I tried to explain that I was just a little anxious to see a strong, healthy heartbeat. She still seemed to think I was a little odd, I think, but she wasted no time in finding that heartbeat for us! PRAISE THE LORD!!!!
I can't tell you how immensely better and relieved I felt! I tear up every time. Still. The miraculousness of not only a heartbeat, strong and definite inside at 8 weeks after conception is amazing enough. The technology to be able to see the heartbeat within a life the size of a pinto bean is something to behold as well. WOW!
Anyway, time to move forward. Enough holding my breath and hoping and praying that God would allow this to happen for real. I knew we weren't exactly "out of the clear" yet, but I was enough relieved that I could finally start to show some excitement. And to start thinking about sharing our news.
The next day, I boarded a plane and jetted off to visit my brother in Corpus Christi, TX. He was officially the first family member we told. It didn't take long after my arrival for the news to break. He was showing me around San Antonio, telling me about some of the places he had been to, about what each had to offer, including some unbelievable chocolate martinis at one stop. Had to break it to him that I would not be enjoying any of those martinis on this trip.
His response: "Well, you guys are just a bunch of baby making machines!" Love it. Family always says what other people think, but don't have the guts to say!
Talking to my brother about having a fourth kid was the first time I really verbalized some of the things I was beginning to realize. Although we are both so excited, I was also beginning to feel like we were entering a whole new category of family life. Obviously, but let me explain. 3 kids is a fairly typical American family. 4 moves us into the "larger family" category. We are no longer "normal." (You may refrain from commenting that maybe we never were normal to start with.) We are about to be judged for all kinds of things. I was flashing forward to the end of summer, before school starts, and trips to the grocery store with my 3 favorite little people and a large belly and hearing random strangers say things like: "You know what prevents this, right?"
Tim and I had always wanted a larger family; it was never a discussion or debate for us. But for whatever reason, I had never really thought about any judgement we might receive for that decision. Until now. But what can I say? Too late! I hadn't wasted much time thinking about it in the past, but for this moment, it has given me what I have begun to call a "healthy fear" of the possible insanity that 4 kids 6 and under might bring to our household!
Friday, June 10, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Week 7: Running a 10K
Sometime in February, I started talking with a friend and former running partner of mine about running a 10K race in the middle of March. It was a pretty low profile event, really near my house on a trail I used to run with this same running partner, and it's always fun to do races on your home turf. If that wasn't good enough, it was only a $10 entry fee, which can't be beat, and there was no early registration. (So, considering it was in mid-March, if we woke up that morning and it happened to be snowing and we decided not to run, we wouldn't be out any money.) Perfect; I was definitely looking forward to it. I had run some last summer, but since I was still nursing Sweetest P, I laid pretty low as running too much always affects the ever precious supply. I was more than ready to get back in the game.
When we started talking about it, I knew there was a possibility that I could be pregnant by race day, but I figured it would be early enough that I could still manage the race. What I didn't anticipate was that not only would I be pregnant at that time, but that between Tim's schedule and my schedule, my opportunities to get out and stretch my legs seemed to be all too few and far between. (One of the hardest adjustments to having 3 small people in the house is that they no longer all fit in the stroller to go on runs with me.) So let's just say I was more than a little unprepared for this race. And by the way, I should probably just call it a run, because let's be real; I wasn't really "racing" anyone.
Anyway, I felt like I had committed to my friend, and I didn't want to bail out on a commitment, so I showed up for the race. But I knew I had no choice but to be forthright. So I told my friend that I probably wasn't going to make it the whole way, and that since the trail looped around, I might "cheat" and cut off a portion of the loop and meet up with her again before the finish. But then I felt like I had to explain why I was unprepared. So she ended up being the 3rd person I told about the newest addition to our family.
In the end, I probably ran about 5 miles of the 6.2, and walked maybe another 1/2 mile. And as always, once I crossed the finish line, I felt like I should have run more and pushed myself harder. And the run itself felt good.
But let me tell you that afterwards I paid for it. Maybe I could call this one of my first major pregnancy symptoms. I wasn't even to my car in the parking lot before I realized there was more than a $10 price tag for this run. My back hurt so bad that I could hardly move. By the time I got home, I was afraid to pick up any of the kids and found myself a few times that day asking Tim to lift them for me. Chiropractor bills started floating through my imagination and I later that day, I found myself searching on line for how on earth I could manage chiropractic care throughout the pregnancy with insurance that doesn't cover a lick of it.
Thankfully, after a nice (long) nap on the couch and a hot bath, I began to feel a little bit better. But I definitely began questioning how to continue exercising throughout this pregnancy AND wondering if this was going to be a foreshadowing of the next 8 months! YIKES!
On an unrelated note, I was caught somewhat off-guard by one of my friends questions in response to my big news. After telling her I was pregnant, she said, "Was this the timing you were hoping for?" For some reason, that surprised me. Even though we had only told a few people at this point, it was the first surprised reaction I had gotten, and I guess it surprised me only because it came from someone who knew me. I would expect that from people who don't know us well, but I didn't expect my friends to be all that surprised. Plus, the question makes me laugh, in general anyway. It's really just a more polite, PC way of asking, "Was this planned?"
I am glad to say YES! And I'd even go so far as to say Divinely Planned!
When we started talking about it, I knew there was a possibility that I could be pregnant by race day, but I figured it would be early enough that I could still manage the race. What I didn't anticipate was that not only would I be pregnant at that time, but that between Tim's schedule and my schedule, my opportunities to get out and stretch my legs seemed to be all too few and far between. (One of the hardest adjustments to having 3 small people in the house is that they no longer all fit in the stroller to go on runs with me.) So let's just say I was more than a little unprepared for this race. And by the way, I should probably just call it a run, because let's be real; I wasn't really "racing" anyone.
Anyway, I felt like I had committed to my friend, and I didn't want to bail out on a commitment, so I showed up for the race. But I knew I had no choice but to be forthright. So I told my friend that I probably wasn't going to make it the whole way, and that since the trail looped around, I might "cheat" and cut off a portion of the loop and meet up with her again before the finish. But then I felt like I had to explain why I was unprepared. So she ended up being the 3rd person I told about the newest addition to our family.
In the end, I probably ran about 5 miles of the 6.2, and walked maybe another 1/2 mile. And as always, once I crossed the finish line, I felt like I should have run more and pushed myself harder. And the run itself felt good.
But let me tell you that afterwards I paid for it. Maybe I could call this one of my first major pregnancy symptoms. I wasn't even to my car in the parking lot before I realized there was more than a $10 price tag for this run. My back hurt so bad that I could hardly move. By the time I got home, I was afraid to pick up any of the kids and found myself a few times that day asking Tim to lift them for me. Chiropractor bills started floating through my imagination and I later that day, I found myself searching on line for how on earth I could manage chiropractic care throughout the pregnancy with insurance that doesn't cover a lick of it.
Thankfully, after a nice (long) nap on the couch and a hot bath, I began to feel a little bit better. But I definitely began questioning how to continue exercising throughout this pregnancy AND wondering if this was going to be a foreshadowing of the next 8 months! YIKES!
On an unrelated note, I was caught somewhat off-guard by one of my friends questions in response to my big news. After telling her I was pregnant, she said, "Was this the timing you were hoping for?" For some reason, that surprised me. Even though we had only told a few people at this point, it was the first surprised reaction I had gotten, and I guess it surprised me only because it came from someone who knew me. I would expect that from people who don't know us well, but I didn't expect my friends to be all that surprised. Plus, the question makes me laugh, in general anyway. It's really just a more polite, PC way of asking, "Was this planned?"
I am glad to say YES! And I'd even go so far as to say Divinely Planned!
Week 6: SURE!!?!
It's slowly beginning to sink in that there really is no such thing as a false positive pregnancy test. It's really true. Ever so slowly, my mind is beginning to imagine what it might be like to have a baby at the beginning of November.
A miscarriage between Noah and Phoebe has made me ever so much more hesitant to get my hopes up, though. With both pregnancies afterwards, I have braced myself for the reality that it could happen again.
So I began this week by scheduling my first OB appointment, ever so eager to see a heartbeat that would begin to put my mind at rest. Got it on the calendar for March 30th, and even the simple act of scheduling it has made me so much more relieved.
With our miscarriage, I didn't know anything was wrong until I went in for my first regular appointment at 10 weeks, and expected everything to be normal. In fact, I was so unprepared for unexpected news that Tim wasn't even with me for that appointment. So, I have it on the calendar between 7-8 weeks, and that's a relief to me. This time, I am prepared that the appointment might not go as planned, and if that's the case, I'll know way ahead of the 10 week mark, which also, somehow makes me feel better. In any case, even though it sounds silly even to me, I am feeling more reassured just to know that in a short matter of time, I'll either see a heartbeat or not.
Until then, I'm beginning to dream of a baby in November, but holding very loosely to the idea. I've learned the hard way that you never know what can happen.
A miscarriage between Noah and Phoebe has made me ever so much more hesitant to get my hopes up, though. With both pregnancies afterwards, I have braced myself for the reality that it could happen again.
So I began this week by scheduling my first OB appointment, ever so eager to see a heartbeat that would begin to put my mind at rest. Got it on the calendar for March 30th, and even the simple act of scheduling it has made me so much more relieved.
With our miscarriage, I didn't know anything was wrong until I went in for my first regular appointment at 10 weeks, and expected everything to be normal. In fact, I was so unprepared for unexpected news that Tim wasn't even with me for that appointment. So, I have it on the calendar between 7-8 weeks, and that's a relief to me. This time, I am prepared that the appointment might not go as planned, and if that's the case, I'll know way ahead of the 10 week mark, which also, somehow makes me feel better. In any case, even though it sounds silly even to me, I am feeling more reassured just to know that in a short matter of time, I'll either see a heartbeat or not.
Until then, I'm beginning to dream of a baby in November, but holding very loosely to the idea. I've learned the hard way that you never know what can happen.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Week 5: SURE? (Beginning of March)
The best place to start a story is always at the beginning, right? Tim and I have made it a habit to start each new year with a conversation about our goals for the year. This year's conversation surprised me more than most. I had my list, and Tim had his, and usually our lists don't surprise each other much. But this year, Tim's first item on the list did just that. His number one goal was to have another baby. It wasn't the idea that surprised me as much as the fact that it was at the top of his list. (He later clarified that the list wasn't necessarily in priority order. Or so he claims.)
Thankfully, we were in agreement, so this was simply a conversation, rather than a debate. But after January passed, without a positive pregnancy test, I was ready for it to take a long time. I even assigned different people to pray for us each day of the week. I was SURE it was going to be a long road. Especially since February posed some serious obstacles for us, and I was SURE February wouldn't be our month either. And March would mean a Christmas baby, of which I was not a big fan. And so on it went.
March began, and although I was desperately attempting to not analyze every "sign," I was sure I was not pregnant. SURE. It was taking all my will power to not jump the gun and take an early pregnancy test. Even still, I figured it was just a couple of days and not a big deal. But I had a test, so I took one anyway.
Even after seeing the plus and dash symbols both appear, I was SURE it was wrong. I've told countless people over the years that there really is no such thing as a false positive. And here I was, not believing my own eyes. It was SUREly wrong. There was no way.
It was early in the morning, before anyone else was up, so I left the surprise on the bathroom counter for Tim to see, and somewhat less sleepily crawled back into bed.
Tim found "the surprise" about an hour and a half later, and his excitement was immediate. He spent about two minutes in disbelief mixed with some shock, and then he was over it. By over it, I mean the shock and disbelief and was already into full fledged excitement.
The remainder of the week was spent in much the same way. Tim was so excited, I was totally in shock. For real. In fact, Tim had to ask me more than once if I was even excited because he felt like I wasn't showing any emotion. I don't think I did. I have never been so surprised by a positive pregnancy test. I am sure that for that first week, I didn't believe it at all. I think I told two people that week (a couple of the people I had asked to pray for us), and even in talking about it with them, I just couldn't believe it was true!!!
I spent the week mulling over the fact that when God's people band together in prayer, and ask something in His name, He shows up!!! I am convinced that this baby happened so quickly for us because we asked people to join us in prayer. That's a new thing for me, and I'm excited to be reaping the benefits! I am totally awed, humbled, and blessed by how God answered this prayer so quickly for us, and I don't doubt for a minute that it has something to do with prayers lifted up on our behalf.
Thankfully, we were in agreement, so this was simply a conversation, rather than a debate. But after January passed, without a positive pregnancy test, I was ready for it to take a long time. I even assigned different people to pray for us each day of the week. I was SURE it was going to be a long road. Especially since February posed some serious obstacles for us, and I was SURE February wouldn't be our month either. And March would mean a Christmas baby, of which I was not a big fan. And so on it went.
March began, and although I was desperately attempting to not analyze every "sign," I was sure I was not pregnant. SURE. It was taking all my will power to not jump the gun and take an early pregnancy test. Even still, I figured it was just a couple of days and not a big deal. But I had a test, so I took one anyway.
Even after seeing the plus and dash symbols both appear, I was SURE it was wrong. I've told countless people over the years that there really is no such thing as a false positive. And here I was, not believing my own eyes. It was SUREly wrong. There was no way.
It was early in the morning, before anyone else was up, so I left the surprise on the bathroom counter for Tim to see, and somewhat less sleepily crawled back into bed.
Tim found "the surprise" about an hour and a half later, and his excitement was immediate. He spent about two minutes in disbelief mixed with some shock, and then he was over it. By over it, I mean the shock and disbelief and was already into full fledged excitement.
The remainder of the week was spent in much the same way. Tim was so excited, I was totally in shock. For real. In fact, Tim had to ask me more than once if I was even excited because he felt like I wasn't showing any emotion. I don't think I did. I have never been so surprised by a positive pregnancy test. I am sure that for that first week, I didn't believe it at all. I think I told two people that week (a couple of the people I had asked to pray for us), and even in talking about it with them, I just couldn't believe it was true!!!
I spent the week mulling over the fact that when God's people band together in prayer, and ask something in His name, He shows up!!! I am convinced that this baby happened so quickly for us because we asked people to join us in prayer. That's a new thing for me, and I'm excited to be reaping the benefits! I am totally awed, humbled, and blessed by how God answered this prayer so quickly for us, and I don't doubt for a minute that it has something to do with prayers lifted up on our behalf.
The Journey Begins
Wanna join me on a journey? I've been entirely absent from blogging for some time now, and there's a fairly good reason for that.
But I'm back in the game now, so to speak, and for anyone who wishes to join me along the way, I've got a story to tell. The story isn't complete yet; it's definitely still in the making. But you can jump in at any point, or you can not and I don't care. I decided to embark on this journey for my sake alone, so I will not be offended to travel this road myself.
Well, I won't really be entirely alone, but maybe no one cares to read about it. You see, Tim is definitely along for the ride. And so are my kids. Including the one who prompted this journey. The one that will join our family in early November of this year.
Yes, that's right folks. If you have stuck with me so far, and are just realizing this now, we are indeed a growing family. Baby #4 will join us in a fewlong short months. We are ALL SO EXCITED!!! And even though we're not even half way yet, we've discovered a few things along the road so far that have made me determined to chronicle the story of adding our fourth child to this family. There have been some things that have happened so far that I definitely want to document, some things that have happened so far that have really caused me to reflect, and some things so far that have really made me laugh. And I want to remember all of it. So there provides the material for this story that I am compelled to tell. Let the journey begin!
(P.S. I suppose I should clarify that this also helps explain my extended absence from blogging. For the last three months, if it didn't involved laying on the couch and being completely unproductive, I've had no interest!! I have been a completely dysfunctional member of society in a total fog of first trimester exhaustion. Somehow, I manage to keep my 3 small children and husband safe, fed, and clothed. Somehow. Barely. But I think I've finally turned a corner and am returning to some semblance of life. Thankfully!)
But I'm back in the game now, so to speak, and for anyone who wishes to join me along the way, I've got a story to tell. The story isn't complete yet; it's definitely still in the making. But you can jump in at any point, or you can not and I don't care. I decided to embark on this journey for my sake alone, so I will not be offended to travel this road myself.
Well, I won't really be entirely alone, but maybe no one cares to read about it. You see, Tim is definitely along for the ride. And so are my kids. Including the one who prompted this journey. The one that will join our family in early November of this year.
Yes, that's right folks. If you have stuck with me so far, and are just realizing this now, we are indeed a growing family. Baby #4 will join us in a few
(P.S. I suppose I should clarify that this also helps explain my extended absence from blogging. For the last three months, if it didn't involved laying on the couch and being completely unproductive, I've had no interest!! I have been a completely dysfunctional member of society in a total fog of first trimester exhaustion. Somehow, I manage to keep my 3 small children and husband safe, fed, and clothed. Somehow. Barely. But I think I've finally turned a corner and am returning to some semblance of life. Thankfully!)
Friday, March 11, 2011
CR Day 7: San Jose
For the record, I had fully given up finishing the Costa Rica story. There wasn't much left anyway, and when I logged onto the blog right now, I actually had another short and sweet story to share with you. But alas, I quickly scrolled through the Costa Rica adventure, relived the pictures in a matter of seconds, and realized that some of my favorite pictures were missing. And that would be because they were taken on our last full day in CR. So...my tales of being married to a farmer will just have to wait until next time. (Which turns out to be ok, because maybe by then I'll have the pictures finally uploaded as proof to share anyway.)
Back to CR. Which is maybe, possibly, where I wish I were right now. Except then I would be missing some of the small people in my house. But then, maybe if I were in CR I would be distracted and not missing them so much? Anyway, back to the story.
Our last day in CR was maybe one of our most relaxing days there. After a leisurely breakfast, we all split up for a bit for the morning to just do what we needed/wanted to do. For Sweetest P, that was probably to take the best, most complete nap she had in CR. For Tim, that was to meet with our host to go over some of their discipleship training materials. For me, that was to take my Bible, my journal, my iPod, and kick back on the deck basking in the sun, or should I say Son?
Afterwards, we headed in to San Jose, the nation's capital city. We browsed an outdoor market looking for last souvenirs, had lunch at the Chinese restaurant across the street, and then wandered the town just enough to get a taste of the culture.
Back to CR. Which is maybe, possibly, where I wish I were right now. Except then I would be missing some of the small people in my house. But then, maybe if I were in CR I would be distracted and not missing them so much? Anyway, back to the story.
Our last day in CR was maybe one of our most relaxing days there. After a leisurely breakfast, we all split up for a bit for the morning to just do what we needed/wanted to do. For Sweetest P, that was probably to take the best, most complete nap she had in CR. For Tim, that was to meet with our host to go over some of their discipleship training materials. For me, that was to take my Bible, my journal, my iPod, and kick back on the deck basking in the sun, or should I say Son?
Afterwards, we headed in to San Jose, the nation's capital city. We browsed an outdoor market looking for last souvenirs, had lunch at the Chinese restaurant across the street, and then wandered the town just enough to get a taste of the culture.
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| They had these trees everywhere. This one happened to be outside of the theater building right in the middle of San Jose. |
Never mind that it was the middle of January. This giant Christmas tree made of lights seemed pretty cool. I would have loved to have seen it lit up at nighttime.
Street performers?
The line of phone booths just drew my eye, for some reason. Maybe because I haven't seen anything like it since circa the 20th century?
Also loved the row of motorcycle parking.
Apparently they let 15 year olds be a part of the police force in CR.
After we had had our fill of sight seeing (which really probably wasn't much more than an hour), we stopped at a grocery store to pick up some goods that we had depleted in the time we were staying with our gracious missionary hosts. However, I never saw what the inside of the store was like. I stayed in the car to nurse Sweetest P. (TMI alert.) She wasn't done by the time they finished their shopping, so we embarked on our craziest ride yet. We stayed in the back of the 4Runner, through the alleys, potholes, hairpin curves, roads with no names, and amazingly arrived home with the babe fast a sleep and only a few bruises as "battle wounds" for me!
Then, me and my traveling companion Rexann, and our Costa Rican hostess, Karen, headed down the road for a mani/pedi. Which makes me laugh because it was only the 3rd time I've done that in my lifetime. The first two were just before siblings weddings, and were gifts to me from family members. So technically, this was the first time I paid for the experience. If you can call $8.00 (including tip) paying for it!!! Not a bad way to end the trip, I'd say!
And there you have it; that pretty much sums up our last day in CR. After dinner, we said good bye to a few of the new friends we met, stayed up WAY too late playing "Loaded Questions" with our friends, and then headed back to our accommodations to figure out how we were going to cram in all the knick-knacks and coffee we had acquired. All before we left for the airport at 0'dark hundred, which was now just a few hours away! Oy!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
CR Day 6: Along for the Ride
As much as we wanted to drag it out, today was our last day at the beach. We savored every last second of it by heading to the beach first thing after breakfast, strolling along the shore while Phoebe napped in the stroller. We took our time, examining and exploring as I attempted to masquerade as a photographer. After Phoebe woke up, we took her to the pool (which she clearly preferred over the ocean), had our friends watch her for a few minutes so we could go play in the ocean, and essentially soaked up the sun along the ocean until the very last minute. We headed back to our room with just barely enough time to pack up and get out by checkout time.
That was the easy part of the day. The rest of the day consisted of making our way back to "home base" in San Isidro. Which involved, well, a lot of riding. The "plan" (now remember, we were on vacation and attempting to refrain from planning, per se) was to stop just outside of the resort property to get lunch and hit the road until we made it home.
We loaded up the cars and headed out. And drove. For awhile. Longer than we all thought before we finally stopped for lunch. We made it to this quaint, local mom and pop seafood place for lunch. Best food I had in Costa Rica.
As it turned out, we happened to be in a town that was in the middle of a "fair". Complete with roads closed, lots of people and a Costa Rican rodeo. We'd heard about Costa Rican rodeos and how the bull is let lose in the ring to chase around the all the men crazy enough to let this happen. At first we were intrigued, but by this point, we were really more interested in just getting home. But then, we were just along for the ride, so we decided to savor the moment and soak in the culture.
We ate. We got back in the cars. We drove. We parked the car. We got out. We walked several blocks to the rodeo. Our free seats had a view that looked something like this.
We waited for the bull to be released. We watched. We left. We bought churros. We bought water. We walked. We (finally) headed back to the cars. Poor Sweet P was EXHAUSTED at this point. But she was hanging in there, along for the ride.
Three hours after we checked out of the hotel, we finally re-reloaded the cars and headed out of town. Maybe this would be a good time to talk about what Tim had read about driving in Costa Rica. You can look at a map and figure it shouldn't take any time at all to get to where you want to go, but the rule of thumb is that you can never plan on traveling more than 20-30 miles an hour. Our experience was, well, just exactly that.
We drove. For hours. Just as we hit the edge of town, we went through a toll and saw our "tour guide" pull over in front of us. We pull up behind him, and you know it's going to be good when he starts with, "Well, you see, the thing is..." The thing was that traffic was bad so we were going to U turn and head back the other direction. (U turn on 5-6 lane interstate road just on the other side of a toll booth, mind you. While trying to keep track of the car in front of us. Sure, no problem.)
We did it and survived to tell about it. Along for the ride. We get into town and then we stopped at our "tour guide's" house. I think for a potty break and for them to switch cars. Or maybe just to make the trip a little bit longer. Phoebe, who for 6 days had endured our travels as a trouper who was along for the ride, was not so happy just to be along for the ride at this point. Thankfully, it was a brief pit stop, and we were on our way once again. Briefly. Until we had to stop yet again at an ATM.
Tim and I were beginning to wonder if we were ever going to get home at this point. The trip that was expected to take about 3 1/2 hours was bordering on 7 hours at this point. Talk about Costa Rican time. But what could we say? We were, after all, just along for the ride!
We did eventually make our final destination, of course, and were able to laugh about the whole experience. We were with the sweetest Costa Rican couple you can imagine, and they were doing their very best to make sure we had got as much exposure to Costa Rican culture as we could. Without them, we would have never got to witness the rodeo that Tim had talked so much about. And I hate to even try to imagine how on earth we would have found our way back to where we started from. (Have I explained yet that the streets in Costa Rica are not labeled w/ street signs? They can't be because the roads don't even have NAMES!)
How often is life like our road trip through Costa Rica? God is our native tour guide, with so many things to show us and experiences to allow us, and instead of being along for the ride, we are so impatient and rushed and stressed that we miss out on all He has for us? Let this be a reminder to me to let Him be my tour guide and that I just need to go along for the ride!!!
There were several of these "shelters" along the beach.
That was the easy part of the day. The rest of the day consisted of making our way back to "home base" in San Isidro. Which involved, well, a lot of riding. The "plan" (now remember, we were on vacation and attempting to refrain from planning, per se) was to stop just outside of the resort property to get lunch and hit the road until we made it home.
We loaded up the cars and headed out. And drove. For awhile. Longer than we all thought before we finally stopped for lunch. We made it to this quaint, local mom and pop seafood place for lunch. Best food I had in Costa Rica.
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| Just to clarify, the drinks were made with just fruit, water and milk. And SO good. |
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| Not sure what's going on with that tongue. Love the wooden high chair! |
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| Fish, "salad" and plantain. Don't miss the lime that was orange inside. |
As it turned out, we happened to be in a town that was in the middle of a "fair". Complete with roads closed, lots of people and a Costa Rican rodeo. We'd heard about Costa Rican rodeos and how the bull is let lose in the ring to chase around the all the men crazy enough to let this happen. At first we were intrigued, but by this point, we were really more interested in just getting home. But then, we were just along for the ride, so we decided to savor the moment and soak in the culture.
We ate. We got back in the cars. We drove. We parked the car. We got out. We walked several blocks to the rodeo. Our free seats had a view that looked something like this.
We waited for the bull to be released. We watched. We left. We bought churros. We bought water. We walked. We (finally) headed back to the cars. Poor Sweet P was EXHAUSTED at this point. But she was hanging in there, along for the ride.
Three hours after we checked out of the hotel, we finally re-reloaded the cars and headed out of town. Maybe this would be a good time to talk about what Tim had read about driving in Costa Rica. You can look at a map and figure it shouldn't take any time at all to get to where you want to go, but the rule of thumb is that you can never plan on traveling more than 20-30 miles an hour. Our experience was, well, just exactly that.
We drove. For hours. Just as we hit the edge of town, we went through a toll and saw our "tour guide" pull over in front of us. We pull up behind him, and you know it's going to be good when he starts with, "Well, you see, the thing is..." The thing was that traffic was bad so we were going to U turn and head back the other direction. (U turn on 5-6 lane interstate road just on the other side of a toll booth, mind you. While trying to keep track of the car in front of us. Sure, no problem.)
We did it and survived to tell about it. Along for the ride. We get into town and then we stopped at our "tour guide's" house. I think for a potty break and for them to switch cars. Or maybe just to make the trip a little bit longer. Phoebe, who for 6 days had endured our travels as a trouper who was along for the ride, was not so happy just to be along for the ride at this point. Thankfully, it was a brief pit stop, and we were on our way once again. Briefly. Until we had to stop yet again at an ATM.
Tim and I were beginning to wonder if we were ever going to get home at this point. The trip that was expected to take about 3 1/2 hours was bordering on 7 hours at this point. Talk about Costa Rican time. But what could we say? We were, after all, just along for the ride!
We did eventually make our final destination, of course, and were able to laugh about the whole experience. We were with the sweetest Costa Rican couple you can imagine, and they were doing their very best to make sure we had got as much exposure to Costa Rican culture as we could. Without them, we would have never got to witness the rodeo that Tim had talked so much about. And I hate to even try to imagine how on earth we would have found our way back to where we started from. (Have I explained yet that the streets in Costa Rica are not labeled w/ street signs? They can't be because the roads don't even have NAMES!)
How often is life like our road trip through Costa Rica? God is our native tour guide, with so many things to show us and experiences to allow us, and instead of being along for the ride, we are so impatient and rushed and stressed that we miss out on all He has for us? Let this be a reminder to me to let Him be my tour guide and that I just need to go along for the ride!!!
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