The Trip--Day 3

Sunday was the day of the whole reason for the trip:  Mom’s retirement dinner at St. John.  Of course, the day started earlier than I’d planned, as I still wasn’t able to get to sleep on the bed I was on.  I kept turning and tossing trying to find a comfortable position, but it just wasn’t happening on that bed.  So at about 4 in the morning, I got up, grabbed a sheet and a blanket, and headed for the couch in the living room.  I also grabbed my phone and set the alarm so I’d wake up in time to get ready for church.  Fortunately, that did the trick.  I was asleep in just a few minutes.

Now, don’t feel bad for me here.  Chad & I were sharing a room with two twin beds while Michele had the spare bedroom with a queen and twin bed.  Since neither of us would want to let the other have the “good” bed, we decided to keep things even and let Michele have that.  I’d been able to sleep on that twin bed before, so the fact that I couldn’t sleep was really a surprise.  But back to the story.

Next thing I know, Chad’s waking me up.  It’s about 7:45, and he’s getting ready to leave for church.  He, Michele, and Dad were going to the 8:00 service.  I had been planning to go to the 9:30 service so Mom would have someone to sit with at that one (since she got to go to all the services), so that worked out pretty well.  As everyone else was in church, I showered, dressed, and got breakfast before heading over to St. John.

I met up with Rob before heading in.  Mom found us, so she knew where we were sitting.  She had to make an appearance at the other 9:30 service (St. John has 2 at 9:30) first, but would join us afterwards.  Or so we thought.  Uncle Dale, my cousin Jen, her husband Rick, her daughter Corin, and nephew Mason all sat up near the front, so when Mom was escorted in, they took her up to sit with them.  That was OK.

When Mom went up to be recognized, the pastor assumed that my uncle was my father.  This guy has been the pastor at this church for 3 or 4 years now.  Mom has been on staff the entire time (actually the last 22 years), and he doesn’t know my uncle (who’s also a member of this church) from Dad.  Needless to say, I was yet again disappointed in Pastor Ego.

After having lunch with Rob, his Mom, and brother Michael (thanks for treating, Mrs. G.), it was back to the house to hang out with the family for a little while before getting ready for the dinner, which started at 4:00.  Despite the rocky start at church earlier in the day, everything went VERY well.  The dinner was good, everyone seemed to have a good time, and everyone who spoke (including Mom) did a great job.  A special thanks to Pete Grund who was a fantastic emcee for the event.

After helping get the gifts packed into the car, we headed back to the house.  If there was ever a time our family should have taken two cars, this was probably it.  Of course, this is when we all (which was 5 of us with Michele) go in one vehicle.  It was not uncommon that if our family would go anywhere, 4 of us would show up in 3 cars.  Go figure.

Once we got home, Chad & Michele had to pack up and head back to GR, since Chad needed to catch a plane to Vegas on Monday morning.  It was good to see him again, as well as to meet Michele.  Odds are the next time I see them will be when I head up for their wedding in a few months, unless they come down to look for a place around Charlotte before then (hint, hint).

While I was down talking with Mom, Dad changed the bed in the spare bedroom, where I’ve been known to sleep well.  After another little snack, and getting Dad’s blood sugar back up, I was off to bed for a GOOD night’s sleep.  So ended day 3.