Flexibility

Today was a lesson in family flexibility. Although we were all thrilled to gather Sarah from camp, Ben's system was not operating smoothly. He was having major tummy distress. We were stopping every 10 minutes. We didn't want to head on the freeway until we could get him settled down.

We had planned on going to a family fun park with waterslides, but put that on hold for another time. The kids were disappointed, but understanding. He just would have been miserable. We drove to a nearby town to buy gas, do a bit of shopping, eat lunch (for all but Ben), and just hang out. He continued to be miserable. It was hot outside which didn't help matters.

Clint came up with the brilliant idea of heading to the lake. "Let's find a place at the park near the water in the shade. Being outside might be just what Ben needs to cool off." It was just the ticket! We found a shady spot along the creek running into the lake and stayed there about an hour. Ben was much improved and was smiling, laughing and splashing all of us. We all enjoyed our feet in the water. Sarah finally talked herself into sitting in the water. She had extra clothes in the car anyway. We felt the medicine had finally kicked in for Ben, and decided we could finally head home. We were not more than 5 minutes from the park before we had to stop again!

Certainly this was an experience designed to teach us flexibility, patience and creative ways to spend time. Finally around supper time he looked up at us and asked when we could eat. He was suddenly starving. We stopped to eat, and he ate more than usual. We were able to go home without any more stops! It was a long day, but we were thankful to make it home in the end.