Houston Weekend- The Drive Down

Knowing that Aaron was going to be in D.C. the weekend following the blessing, I knew that I didn't want to be at home all by myself. I coordinated with my sister, Stacey, and decided a trip down to Houston was in order.

It wasn't until the actual day of the trip that reality started settling in about what I was about to do. I was going to take my three year old and my two month old and I was going to lock them in a car for 5 plus hours with no one else to help me. My anxiety levels were pretty high that day. But the only other option was to be home alone on the weekend, I could do this, right?

The apartment was clean and our bags were packed. Aaron met us at the apartment after his classes so we could drive him to the airport. We got everything settled in, dropped Aaron off and kissed him goodbye and started heading south. All air molecules in my lungs seemed to stop as I thought to myself, "Am I really going to do this?" When I finally decided to start breathing again I thought, "Yes, yes I am."

The first hour and a half was great. Grace was entertained and Christian slept. After a while Christian started to get a little fussy so I pulled off into a gas station. I had pumped a bottle before we left so that this feeding would be a little easier and more convenient. He ate, we got ourselves re-situated, and I snapped a picture. As I pulled back onto the highway I had the audacity to think, "Wow, this is going really well. Maybe I was wrong in thinking this would be difficult."

As we drove, the gas stations and rest stops became fewer and farther between, and suddenly we were in the middle of nowhere. It was peaceful really. Vast stretches of farmland with wide-stretched green Texas prairies. About half an hour after our initial stop, Christian started to fuss again. I figured he probably wanted to eat some more since the bottle I pumped only had about 3/4 of a normal feeding in it. I reached back to see if I could put the pacifier back in his mouth but was disappointed when I realized that the car seat was about 3 inches too far. He would have to cry it out until we reached a gas station. Ten minutes went by and there were no gas stations in sight. I calmly handled Christian's cries and did my best to soothe him while I drove. Another 5 minutes went by and I started to became a little more desperate to find somewhere (anywhere) to stop. With every passing minute his cries become more and more hysterical and I became more and more desperate. No gas stations. Finally, 20 minutes after Christian's initial cry, I saw a gas station that had a Burger King attached. It was already past dinner time and I figured I'd quickly zip through the drive through line and have Grace eat dinner while I nursed Christian.

I pulled up to the speaker box and waited. I took the opportunity to reach as far back as I could and give Christian his pacifier. He wanted nothing to do with it. I tried rocking his car seat as much as I could, but that did nothing either. I finally stuck my finger in his mouth which calmed him for a second before he realized that my finger was definitely not what he wanted and he started screaming again. I was getting a little frantic and overwhelmed and we had been sitting there for a solid minute and no one had acknowledged me. I said, "Hello?" into the speaker box. As Christian sobbed hysterically I got more angry so I yelled, "HELLO?!" Nothing. I could see into the drive-thru window and no one was even standing there. I thought a bizillion times about just jumping ship, but Grace needed to eat too and I had already pulled in. Another minute passed by and finally someone said, "Welcome to Burger King, may I take your order." As quickly as humanly possible, I spewed out my order. "Okay so thats......(static)....and.....(static)....." Through the window I could see that his mouth was still moving, but his headset was shorting out. He looked at me and I stared back at him. He took his headset off and walked away. Now I was getting mad. A minute later he came back with a new headset, retook my order and I pulled up to the window. As he opened it to take my card he heard Christian screaming and gave me the strangest look. I did my best to not reach through my window and bludgeon him with his newly functioning headset.

Finally we had the food. I pulled off to the least crowded area of the parking lot, threw my car into park and flung Christian's door open. I practically broke the buckle off of his carseat trying to get him out. Grace started crying, "Mommy! I want out of my seat." I held Christian (who was still screaming) in one arm and reached through the car to unbuckle Grace. Suddenly my foot started stinging and as I stood back up after unbuckling Grace I looked down to see my foot, and the ground I was standing on, absolutely covered in fire ants. Still holding my hysterical two month old in one arm I used my other hand to swat off the fire ants that were feasting on my foot, their bites stinging so bad they were sending chills down my spine.

I ran back to the front of the car, continuously trying to slap off fire ants and I got in the front seat. I didn't even bother with my hooter hider, at this point any trucker in the nation could see what I had to offer and I wasn't even going to care. As I was trying to get Christian to latch, my milk let down with a vengeance and started spraying like a fire hose. Christian started choking and gasping for air and, ultimately, continuing to scream. My foot throbbed and stung all over from the dang fire ants and I just hung my head and started to cry. I thought, "This is so ridiculous."

After 20 minutes or so we finally got the whole situation calmed down and under control. Grace happily bobbed around in the front seat eating french fries and enjoying the adventure, no worse for the wear. Christian nursed and burped, and the stinging on my foot subsided a little bit.

I sat in that parking lot until I felt like I had recovered from the situation, until I could laugh about it. I mean honestly, fire ants? What are the chances? I took pictures documenting the exact location of this extremely ridiculous situation.

An hour after I initially arrived frantic and desperate, I left, tear stained but calm and definitely laughing at myself and thinking, "So much for thinking this might not be difficult."

Christian slept the rest of the drive and Grace stayed awake but completely self-entertained. It was almost midnight by the time that we arrived at my sister's house, but we had made it and we were all still in one piece.