I have a terrible memory. I know it, my family knows it, my work is starting to catch on (I write everything down even when it seems silly). I forget a lot of things. A lot of things.
I've always had a terrible memory. I've forgotten people. Like, just really forgot that I ever knew them. In 6th grade, a new girl in school, Andrea came up and said "Hi" to me as if we had been long lost friends. I looked at her weird and said a shy "hi" back. To which she asked, "Don't you remember me?" "No."
I really didn't. She didn't even look familiar at all.
"We were friends in 3rd grade and then I moved away for two years, but now I'm back!"
uhhh... ok!
I had no recollection of her. But later found pictures of us together. That's how bad my memory is.
I claim that all of the anesthesia that I had during early surgeries killed memory cells. It has to be!
So, after I had both of my girls I wrote down their birth story. I don't ever want to forget those moments in my life. I am ok with forgetting the pain, but nothing else.
Last weekend, I knew we were headed for a memorable weekend. We were going to Vermont to spend four days with my cousins. I have five cousins on my Dad's side, and three of them live locally with their families. So, a few years back we went to a house one of them owns (and built with his brothers) in Vermont. We made it an annual tradition for four years, and then money became tight and they needed to rent it out so we took a few years off. Well, this year, we headed back there.
When the Blackwell Cousins get together, there's always a lot of drinking, singing, game-playing, eating and laughing. It really is my happy place. I am THE HAPPIEST when I'm surrounded by this family.
My sister couldn't join in the festivities - money is tight for her, and she had class on Saturday. She's getting her degree very soon, so skipping class is really not an option. Her husband has severe social anxiety as well, so forcing him to attend this weekend with people he's met once or twice didn't really seem fair - and to be honest, was a good excuse to stay home when she really couldn't afford to rent a car and pay for the trip.
So, we decided that we would bring my niece Elizabeth.
We knew this was about a 5 hour car ride, so we hooked up the DVD players in the car (what a godsend those are with bored little girls!) and headed off to Vermont. Our car was so packed you couldn't see out the back window at all and each of us had items in our laps. (I am horrible at taking pictures so I just don't have any of this sight, however; it was one!)
We hit major traffic, even though I sent us up 495 trying to avoid it. We ate dinner at about 7:15 in Hooksett, NH. The girls were allowed to have Wendy's which is a huge treat for them - and lucky for Ryan and I, there was a Subway next door. We all ate and were pretty content.
We had been texting with my cousins about the traffic and stopping for dinner the whole way up until after dinner, when we went through Franconia Notch. We lost service at this point and never got it back! I don't mind going "unplugged" for a weekend or so, but I like to have the option of service if I want it - this lack of service made me very nervous.
Either way, we were following the GPS (which did work, thankfully) and got to the point in the trip where you can see your destination flag!! (Hallelujah!) So, we just had to turn right and go 0.7 miles more and we were at the giant house with our giant family.
Turn right, and head up this snowy road... up... up... s..l...o...w...l...y... u....p.... and notgoingupanyfurther!
Tires spinning, transmission grinding, we're not going any further.
So, Ryan backed down the road and gave it more gas and tried back up this hilly road.
Again, tires spinning, transmission grinding, spinning the car back and forth, but not going further.
We back down further, this time down the main road a bit. We pick up speed more and turn right onto the hillyroadofdeath and we're swerving left and right because our car is just awful in this snow and we couldn't catch any tracking... we got up a little further but no where near as far as we needed to go. This trying again and again backing out further but only causing more swerving happened a few more times before I said, "Ok, we need to park down here with our hazards on and wait".
"What for what, Amanda, we are in the boonies!!"
"I don't know, some of the cousins have to be behind us right?" I figured my cousin Kathy was because I knew they stopped for dinner after us.
With great frustration, we decided that one of us needed to walk the 0.7 miles down that hilly, pitch black road to find the house and get my cousins to help us get the car up the hill. (How they were going to do that, we had no idea, but I just knew they could).
So, Ryan took his phone (at my encouragement) to use as a flashlight and headed up the hill. And Maddie, Isabella, Elizabeth and I waited with our hazards on. My phone did read that the temperature was -20 outside. I was really wishing that Ryan had thought to put on a hat and gloves, but he was out of sight and was too ticked off to be reasoned with at that point anyways!
About fifteen minutes later, I saw headlights. Praying they would stop, I leaned over to the driver side window and rolled it down. Sure enough, they slowed down and asked if we were ok. I explained that we couldn't get up the hill and Ryan went to get help. At that point, my cousin Kathy, who was in the front seat (her boyfriend that I had only met once was the person speaking to me) leaned her head forward and said, "AMANDA!!!!!" Oh thank GOD, it was Kathy!!!
Then she said the words I will never forget: "This isn't the right road!!"
Ummm, what's that now? This has to be the right road, the little GPS flag is .7 miles down on the right!!
"No, no, it's about a half mile down the road and then you turn right to get to their street".
Well, I then asked them if they would go up this "wrong" road and try to find my very ticked off, very cold, and now very lost husband. Sure, they had four wheel drive, they could make it up the hill - so they did. They drove up the hill and out of sight in search of Ryan.
About 10 minutes later, they came back down the hill and before I even saw into the car, I had a sinking feeling.
"We didn't see him!"
Immediately, tears and hysterically crying came from the back seat of my car.
"Are you sure he went that way, up that hill, there's like nothing up there!"
"Yes, I know he went up there!!!"
"Ok, we'll go back, we'll find him, don't worry!"
Well, the longest ten minutes of my life happened between 10:20pm and 10:30pm on February 13, 2015.
During those minutes, I had to convince my hysterical 7 year old that crying would not find Daddy, but praying would. We prayed (over the sound of Barney on the DVD player) together and asked for God to help us.
Finally, I saw headlights coming back down the hill. "WE GOT HIM!!!"
THANK YOU GOD!!!
So, Ryan jumped in our car, we followed them down the road another half mile before we turned onto their actual road. Apparently, they told Ryan that the road wasn't as hilly or as bad as the one we thought was the right road. So, we were trucking along up and down the small hills headed to the RIGHT house!
As we drove up each small hill, we were praying "Please God, please God... YES!!!" and then again at the next hill, "Please God.... Yes, we made it"... until... "Please God, please God, please God... come on!!! PLEASE GOD!!!!!!!!! UGHHHHHHHHHHH SERIOUSLY??!!!" Tires spinning, transmission grinding, we're not going any further... back down the hill we went (swerving into and out of snow banks as we backed up, because the car is terrible in snow, apparently!!)
We tried to get up the hill again, and only ended up skidding into the side of the road (which had four feet of snow) and tried again.
Kathy and Dave had continued ahead, so we knew they knew we were stuck. We just sat there, again, waiting for someone to come save us. At this point, Isabella had just fallen asleep, Maddie is crying and Elizabeth was gabbering up a storm (she talks a lot when she's nervous apparently).
About five minutes later, headlights come toward us and we're hoping/praying/assuming it's Dave or one of my other cousins.
Sure enough, out jump Paul and Brian (my two cousins) who had been enjoying some adult beverages for the past hour or so!! Laughing and joking with each other, "HEY GUYS!!!!! WHAT'S UP!!! Can't this baby get up the hill??"
So, with their coaching, we tried three more times. At that point, Dave said, Amanda, I'll take you and the girls and get you warm and in the house, they can figure this all out.
THANK YOU LORD!!
So, Maddie, Elizabeth and a sleeping/crying/sleepy Isabella and I jump in his car and get to the house!
We walked into the door and my cousin handed me a beer and took my coat!! The most amazing welcome I could have asked for!!!!
About fifteen minutes later, I see our car come barreling down the road and into the driveway. Paul was in the drivers seat (which I completely expected) and I don't need to know how they got it over the hill, all I know is that Ryan was not in a snowbank dead somewhere and our car was there with our luggage!!!
At that point, I believe it was 11pm, which is the latest my kids have ever gone to bed! They fell asleep the minute their heads hit the pillows and then I was ready to drink and relax!!
Drinking and relaxing is exactly what we did. We played a little Just Dance, played Cards Against Humanity (which was hysterical), Hollywood Game Night, and Heads Up. We went sledding, snowmobiling, we ate a lot, Tricia and I got a good workout in at one point over the weekend, and we thoroughly enjoyed being with each other.
God was right there with us on the way home as well! We got all packed up and headed out of their driveway and sure enough... Tires Spinning, transmission grinding, swerving back and forth, we're not going anywhere. So, we tried a few times, and then Brian got Paul and another cousin to give us a push. They literally pushed our SUV out of the driveway and we headed on down the road. This road is very hilly, but mostly downhill, so we were swerving like crazy, but we made it... until the end where we turn left onto the main road, Rt. 114 and we went to slow down to stop at the end of the road and the breaks locked up!!! Ryan had to cut the wheel to the left to try to just swerve into the main road and hope we didn't spin out. We swerved right instead of left and almost crashed into the woods, then he cut the wheel and swerved left and was trying to straighten out the car. He yelled, "I can't brake, they're locked!!!" and I tried to be as calm as I could and said, "Ok, pump them a little bit, just a little" and then he straightened out and we were headed in the right direction in the right lane!!!
Well, a few yards ahead was a red car. Both of us realized, I think, at the same time, that had we not gotten stuck at the driveway and needed the push out of the driveway, we would have absolutely crashed into that red car.
THANK YOU GOD FOR WATCHING OVER US ALL THE TIME!!
So, needless to say, it was an incredible weekend that started out shakey and ended shakey as well!!! I love the little details of this story, and I don't want to some day just look back and thin k - oh yeah, didn't we get stuck or something?!? I wanted to remember it all - so, there it is... and I will always look back on that trip as one of the best
I'll leave you with the few pictures I did take!!
