"All words are symbols that represent unspeakable realities. Which is also why words are magical." (Donald Miller tweet)

Monday, July 20, 2015

the day i found a spoon

It was a busy weekend. Saturday, we had an out-of-town family wedding, at which I was officiating. Which meant that I needed to be at the rehearsal on Friday evening.

The plan was that I would go earlier on Friday (to avoid traffic - it was just east of that Big City we're a little west of); and Spike, whose second cousin is the bride, would meet me later at the hotel that was very kindly provided for us, whenever he got off work Friday night.

But the traffic was B-R-U-T-A-L. Spike didn't even try to make it Friday evening. He decided to come in the morning. Which changed MY plans a little because check-out was at noon, and the ceremony wasn't until 4, so there was no point at all in checking out any earlier. I also definitely did NOT want to get up early, shower and get dressed, go out for breakfast by myself, and then come back and get dressed for the wedding, and THEN check out.

I couldn't see the point in that. Better to lounge in pjs, awaiting Spike (I had his dress clothes there), in a lovely hotel room until 11:30 AM, right?

But I can't live without breakfast.

So on Friday night after the rehearsal, I stopped in at a nearby drugstore to see if I could find something that would work for breakfast in a hotel room that happily had a fridge and a microwave, but not a kettle.

It took me awhile. Partly because by this time I was really, REALLY tired, having begun the day at 4:30 AM, and having driven a few hours to get to the hotel, and then having subsequently gotten lost on the way to the rehearsal from the hotel.

Don't you just LOVE
when your GPS leads you onto a gravel road
in the middle of nowhere, no houses or anything,
not even shoulders on the road
- just a perilously close ditch on each side -
and confidently announces,
"You have arrived at your destination"?

So I was tired. Bleary-eyed. Brain barely functioning. And if I could just buy a few breakfast things, I could sleep late the next morning and enjoy a quiet few hours in that lovely hotel room.

What could possibly go wrong? I was so pleased with it all I texted pics of my purchases to Spike, once I got back to the room Friday night.



I was particularly pleased to have found these, which would give me a nice hot, filling breakfast, without need of a kettle. (The hotel room had a Keurig coffee maker, in case you were wondering about that.)



And then ... happiness turned to despair, mid-text.





I had no spoon. All that planning. And I was soooo tired. And I had talked enough to the front desk people. I didn't want to talk anymore.

Checked out the coffee stir sticks - could they be used for a spoon?
No. Really not.
They had the thickness of a pencil lead.

I searched frantically for anything, wondering if I could dip my own fingers in hot cereal if I did it quickly enough.

Eyed the orange juice lid as a makeshift scoop.

And then ... oh joy ...






I slept like a log, just little ol' me in a giant king size bed. Woke up the next morning and happily enjoyed my breakfast, using BOTH the coffee pods provided with the Keurig. Then paused and thoughtfully texted Spike once more, knowing he was on his way.




He knows me.

And loves me anyway.

Wedding went off beautifully.
Bride giggled through the vows.

Nobody wiped out going down the hill.
(It was an outdoor wedding.)

Well, actually ...
I very nearly wiped out on that hill
in my fabulous Ukrainian high heels,
but everyone was gracious enough not to mention it.