Well, you must account for the huge Hudson Bay if you want to REALLY drive to the North Pole. We didn't, so we didn't. But not speaking French and travelling 4 days into Quebec to Lac Saint Jeanne was enough of an adventure for us, and the one among us who wanted to take this road trip in the first place was ready to return to the American side of the Saint Lawrence Seaway and into New England by midweek. (By the way, I never knew there were so many saints! Practically every little town and river in Quebec held the name of an honored saint...whew!)
It's challenging being cooped up in a single vehicle in a country where neither of you speak the languange and you handle stressful situations very differently. How would you handle having to drive back 1 and a half hours in the rain upon arriving at the Canada border because your wife just realized (when she went to take a pic of the border crossing) that she forgot the camera in that cute Adarondack Pizza shop where you ate dinner?
How might you handle beign stuck in the middle of nowhere sandwiched between a raging river and a mountainside where they are doing road construction with nothing to eat and having to pee among a long line of truckers (oh and did I say we couldn't speak the language?)
How about your wife choosing a French phrase book that is absolutely no help because it's written for people who speak FRENCH trying to learn English and not the other way around?
How about having your favorite credit card frozen for the rest of the trip because you couldn't read what it was asking you to do THREE TIMES at the Canadian gas station self-serve pump?
To say that it tests one's best relationships to take this kind of trip together is the worst of it.
The best of it was the new love we have for our own New England (where we can understand signs and directions and it IS VERY BEAUTIFUL!) It was also awesome sharing snacks we never eat, trying to navigate through a city in the middle of night, seeing a mother moose and her twins, holding hands in Cooperstown after really enjoying the Baseball Hall of Fame....and hiking to waterfalls on a weekday when most of the rest of the world was at work.
I failed miserably at keeping a calm head and being a sweet spirit through every tense moment...but I came back knowing this man I love better and realizing I made a really good choice 28 years ago next month when we exchanged vows and promised that we'd be there through all these better or worsts. He loves me warts and all, moods and all, things I forget and all (did I mention I left my favorite beanie pillow I love for my neck at a hotel in Montreal the very next morning? We didn't go back for that :( ..... I guess he's hoping I learn something from all this forgetting.)
Well, that's about all I can tell you about driving to the North Pole. We didn't. But it was still fun.
3 comments:
OOhhh the wisdom that comes when we realize it's not about the where or the what, but the who. And how we handle those "whos" - with gentleness, compassion, patience, love...the very parts of our spirit that grow and evolve the more we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us (and in our relatinships!) What a blessed trip you've taken - not just the one in the car, but in life!!
Myra and Ken,
I think I am posting to Amy's comment, but know you will get it anyway. Sorry, Amy. It sounds like you and Ken are having a great experience. Ken should be glad that you haven't forgotten him somewhere along the trip! Just think, you not only got to see so much of the roadside once, but the second time around you at least knew where you were going/coming. Have a wonderful trip back and can't wait to hear more. Remember you are never really lost, you are always in God's world. May you have a peaceful trip back and enjoy the beauty of our Father's creation.
Nancy
Oh Myra...what a wonderful adventure you and Ken have had...more to come in the future i am sure! There is this amazing thing that happens when we are at our worst with the one we love the most...a significant stake is placed in the ground, and we come back to how much we totally do not deserve the love of the other, yet - as a picture of Christ and the Church - marriage- shows us what faithfulness and committment means...in the very real light of who we are...not who we want to be!!! Great grounding!!! Thanks for your honesty and prayers!!!
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