Down the Highway

I headed down the highway bright and early this morning to spend three days with five of my grandsons while their parents go to Banff for a couple of days.  It's a glorious fall day, bright and sunny and perfect for being out and about.  I'm usually with Lloyd or a friend when I do any highway driving but today I was on my own, feeling free and happy and ready to face the care and feeding of five boys ranging in age from almost 4 to 15.   The hour and a half drive passed quickly (probably because my car loves to go fast and I have a heavy foot on the gas).

As I was driving along I couldn't help but remember the last time I drove down this highway by myself almost four years ago.  Conditions were different then.  It was winter.  Snow and ice were part of the landscape, and the road.  It was midnight.  I was alone.  I had left home in a hurry, stopping long enough to throw a coat on over my pyjamas and gloves for my hands, and a bag of clothes for a quick change in the morning.

I had just had a phone call from Jenny.  She was expecting her fifth baby in January but something had gone wrong and Anders had to take her to the hospital 20 kms away immediately.  This was Dec.  6.  They couldn't wait for me to get there but headed out shortly before I was due to arrive at their place.   I made it there in record time and checked to see that the four boys were still asleep and oblivious to the drama playing out in their family.

Anders kept in touch with me through the early hours of the morning via cell phone and called me when little James was born - 5 weeks early.  He was put in in NICU right away for extra care.  Jenny was tired and worried but fine otherwise.  Anders came home before the boys woke up and was there to tell them the exciting, but unexpected, news of the early arrival of their little brother.  It was heartwarming to witness their excitement over the new little guy.  This family does love it's babies.

Anders and James

Later that day I was able to go to the hospital and visit Jenny and James.  He looked so tiny in his isolette with wires and tubes attached to his tiny body.  He was doing well though and was home for Christmas. Today he's just short of 4 years old and has no ill affects of rushing headlong into this life.

James today, squinting in the sun

I'm glad my drive today was undramatic, during the bright sunshine, on bare roads, and worry-free.