Showers

This past Saturday I did something I haven’t done in ages and ages. I attended a baby shower. I was especially excited to be able to participate in this one, because it was for my dear friend, Laura, on the occasion of the imminent birth of her 11th child — and because it was a SURPRISE! I love surprises, and I love giving gifts, so it was a two-fer.

The home of the host family for this event is north of town, and having never driven up to that area before, I thought I’d better get us on the road a bit more than an hour early. I knew I needed to stop at the drug-store and pick up a card, and then there was just enough time to get a beverage for the road and we were off. It was fun having mom along for the day and I enjoyed the chance to spend time with her on the road, as well as with the ladies, most of whom were (I think) from homeschool groups as well as from our church. Anyway, as we were leaving, there were heavy dark clouds overhead, and I imagined we might drive through some sort of precipitation along the way. What I failed to account for was the torrential nature of the deluge that actually hit, about halfway there, while we were driving roughly 80 mph (the speed limit was 75, so 80 keeps you with the flow of traffic). I very quickly realized that I was going too fast, and also that this was the first time I had driven my new van in the rain, and had no idea how to turn on the wipers. I immediately headed for the first available exit, praying mightily that Jesus would get me safely off the highway. Once I’d come to a stop (with not a little hydroplaning getting there) on the side of an exit (I didn’t even know how to find the hazard lights), I fiddled and faddled and turned on the rear windshield wiper and turned on the windshield washer and learned how to turn on the intermittent wipers, and FINALLY figured out how to get them on properly, and with great relief, with my wipers going full-tilt, eased back onto the highway, which was now crawling along at about 45 mph.

We were by that point just a couple of miles from our destination exit, and made it safely off and into the neighborhood. It was only then I discovered that the map I had printed out at home had everything except the address on the page. So I had to call home and have someone get into my email and find the invitation so I could get a house number. The heavens were still unleashing a veritable tsunami when we pulled into the driveway, and I sat for a moment thinking about how to unload the croissant sandwich platter, coffee cake, present bag, my camera, and my mother, all without an umbrella. I realized there was no help for it. We were going to get stinkin’ wet. So out I jumped, ran around the van and helped mom get up the steep (but thankfully short) driveway and under the porch roof to the door, where we were greeted with smiles and towels. Then it was back to the van for the sandwiches, then another trip for the coffee cake, and by that time I was drenched to the skin, head to toe, and I decided to go deal with parking the car, and hope the rain would let up before I had to get out again. I drove around the neighborhood several times, parked for a while and watched the water come down in torrents, finally thought it had let up a little, drove back to the house and ran in with the gift bag, then back to the car to park. We were supposed to park a little away from the house to prevent Laura from seeing our cars and suspecting something when she arrived later. I ended up down the block, parked in front of a fire hydrant of all things, and then again had to pause and figure out the dilemma of how to get my camera inside without getting doused. Stupidly, I had left my waterproof camera bag at home, thinking “Oh, I wont need any of my accoutrements, I can just bring the camera.” Never doing that again, I’ll tell you what. Then I fished around and found a plastic bag from the drug store which saved the day. Out I got, and trudged up the block, arriving as drenched as if I had jumped into the ocean. I think a tiny bit of my makeup was salvageable in the end, but I had to towel my head and just brush it and give up on looking presentable. I could only laugh and go with the flow — the day was NOT, after all, about me! 😀 (I will say that the silver lining, for a woman of my years, was that with a wet shirt on, I had no trouble staying cool. And that’s saying something.)

By that time others were arriving and food was being set out, and before we knew it, Laura arrived for her purported “lunch date” with our hostess. She was completely taken by surprise, and her reaction was wonderfully satisfying, and made all the bedragglement worthwhile. 🙂 From there we had a lovely luncheon, followed by some hilarious games and charades, and finally the gifts, which included a new stroller! It was such a joy to be there, to have a good time of fellowship with the ladies, and to bless Laura with some supplies for her precious new son. Thank you Lord for the gift of being part of your family!

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