Wait, You Were Right Behind Me

Cellphones are genius for locating those that get lost from each other. However, there were no cell phones 21 years ago as the Barbers packed up and moved to New Mexico in separate vehicles. All our goodbyes had been said, the keys were given to the new owners of our old home, loaded moving truck was on its way, the cats were kenneled  and all 3 toddlers were strapped into our 2 vehicles. So let's hit the road!

Ron was in the lead with Cam in his car as we waved goodbye one last time and hit the road. I was in the rear with Ryan and Tanner, a van full as we began the 2 day drive to our new town. But we lost each other before we even made it out of town. What? Yes, I got stuck at a red light and when I finally got through it I couldn't find Ron anywhere.

For the next 6 hours I played hurry up and slow down in an attempt to catch up or wait for him. The problem was that while I was on the highway south trying to figure out if he was in front of me or behind me, he was still in Livermore trying to find me. When he didn't see me behind him he assumed I had forgot something at a friend's house that we were passing, so he swung in to meet me there. When I wasn't there he thought I must be somewhere else in town. Needless to say, he was definitely behind me!

We did have a plan to meet at Anderson's Pea Soup if we got separated or did we? I thought about setting up a meeting place but had I actually told Ron we should meet there? When I finally arrived I parked right at the exit so he could see my van just in case. The other problem was Ron was calling people in Livermore to locate me while I was calling family in Arizona.

After many stressful, frustrating hours I called a friend and found out that Ron was indeed behind me but finally on his way. That was the longest trip to Bakersfield ever and we were certainly happy to get our little family back together in the hotel that evening. Moving is stressful enough with all the details and goodbyes without this misunderstanding.

Technology prevents a repeat of  this story. Now we would just pick up  the phone and ask for each others current location on Google Maps then pull over for a latte and wait. But what kind of story would that be?

In Him,
Joyful