Mother Said There'd Be Days Like This

She also said ... things are never so bad they can't get worse.  Why are mothers always right? 

I have to say it wasn't the best day I've ever had.  It started out cheerfully enough with the complimentary breakfast at the hotel in Trois Riviere, Quebec.  It was the morning after our first day on the road to Newfoundland and Labrador.  

A most helpful lady gave Michael explicit instructions, in English by the way, on how to pour juice from the automatic dispensing machines.  I know, sounds crazy, doesn't it?  It's automatic!

        "First you pour a bit of the juice into your cup from the left side", it actually said apple, "it's concentrate you know so, you have to add the water from the right side".  The right side said orange but, okay, Michael thought.  "Believe me", the woman said, "I've already been through this and figured it all out".  So he followed her pointers perfectly and enjoyed a juice mixture of apple and orange.  Not to worry, it tasted okay and besides this was going to be a good day, wasn't it?

The earliest we can ever get out of a place in the morning is about ten.  This day we made it out by 10:30 to start the day-long drive to Fredericton, New Brunswick.  After loading the trunk we took off.  About a block from the hotel we heard something fall in the back.  On quick inspection Michael remarked the trunk had somehow come open.  He did have trouble, he said, getting it closed.  

"We better drive back to see if anything small might have fallen out".  We didn't see anything.  When he circled the car again to head in the direction of our day's destination his cup of coffee toppled from the dash and landed at his feet.  Luckily the lid was still on and stayed in place.  Whew, a close call.  I'm starting to feel a little tense.  

Later in the morning when we stopped, I re-arranged wet clothing Michael had draped over the luggage to dry.  

"Where's my bathing suit"?

"It's there", he said, "right beside your nightgown".  No bathing suit was ever found.  Did it escape when the trunk popped?  Damn!  The swim in a hotel pool at the end of a day sitting in the car was a must so, we stopped along the way for a replacement.  

As we got out of the car to shop for my new bathing suit I noticed the floor mat under my feet was making squishy noises.  My water bottle had fallen over and the lid had been loosened.  The entire contents had soaked into the mat.  Now, I was going into try on bathing suits in a mood that wasn't my usual one.  I was getting mighty irked, the tension was ramping up.

Is there anything that puts more fear and panic into the heart of a woman than trying on bathing suits ... in front of a three-way mirror AND under the unflattering glare of fluorescent lighting?  I looked in the mirror and the day was definitely looking really, really bad.  I reluctantly made my choice - a two piece ensemble.  Don't panic, it looks like a one piece when it's on.  

The lost bathing suit made me look about seven months along, as the ladies liked to say.  The new one?  Not so much.  I'd say I look full-term.  Double damn!  

At about this point on any given day when I'm travelling the ankles are starting to look pretty puffy.  This day was no exception.  If you get the idea a kind of depression was setting in, you'd be right.  Thank God the medication bag with the anti-depressants was still on board.  

Should I mention that I get restless legs on long drives?  Would it take you down as low as I was to go?  Remember the other thing mother said?  Things are never so bad they can't get worse.  Well, at dinner I was served chicken that wasn't quite cooked.  We sent it back and then I had to worry about whether they replaced the salad underneath or simply re-arranged it to make it look like it was new.  At this point I'm anxious to get into bed where, hopefully, I'd be safe from this day. 

We stopped by the car to get the rest of our things before returning to our room and VOILA!  Did you think I found my bathing suit?  WRONG!!!  My bag of shoes was missing.  

"It must have fallen out of the car when the trunk popped", his lordship said. 

Now my heart really sank as I realized I had only one pair of shoes, sandals that are not all that comfortable to boot.  I mentally went over what was in my shoe bag ... my Shrine Shoes, oh, no ... only my friend Susy will get this, she's to start a painting for us that includes those shoes.  Always one to try to find the positive I said, "Well, at least I took the photos for Susy before we left" ... but then do I really want a pair of shoes I no longer have in the painting?  Those shoes were darned expensive too.  Expensive?  My two pair of runners, now lost in that bag, were also expensive.  My new leopard crocs were the only bargain buy, but I love those funky shoes, I'm going to miss them.  My final thought, before my eyes teared up was about the extremely expensive orthotics that were still in my Shrine Shoes.  

With sick stomachs we went to our room for the night.  Did I mention Michael had forgotten to pack his underarm deodorant?  This day turned out to be quite the stinker.  I was glad it was over. 

The next morning my bowels told me that perhaps some of the uncooked chicken did get through.  Is this going to be the trip from hell, or what?  

If you've hung in through this lament you deserve some good news.  Michael called the first hotel we stayed in where the shoe bag escaped.  It was turned in, along with my bathing suit.  TA-DA!  Now we know where we will spend our last night.  And, yes, I've also done some shoe shopping to get me through the next two weeks.  

Saturday (June 28th) we catch the ferry for Newfoundland.  It's sure to be a better day.  Unless what mother said ...  

Do you remember we struggle to get an earlier start than ten?  We have to be out of here by nine in order to catch the ferry.  Maybe you'd better check back in to see how we made out.