Crazy Day

Our last day of vacation was anything but relaxing, but in an odd way, coming home is always a bit crazy. I would like to mention how much we enjoyed Montreal and how we hope to go back regularly, but we often say that about places we like. One thing Montreal has going in its favor is that it’s close, and it’s a great place to practice French. Plus, they have hockey.

We were planning on staying in the city until our last day, at which point we were going to have a leisurely drive home in time for UF and my hockey game, but then a wrench was thrown into our plans. A good friend was celebrating his birthday that day, and we were invited. He’s one of those cool, socially conscious kids who didn’t want a present but instead asked us to bring some food to donate to a charity. The party was going to be limited to good friends, so our absence was going to be felt.

Truth be told, I got the invite the week prior to the party, and we were scrambling to prepare for my in-laws visit, so it kind of fell by the wayside. I couldn’t commit because I knew we were going away at some point, and wasn’t sure of our itinerary. Putting it off, as usual, was a big mistake, because by the time we were getting ready to leave for Montreal, we got a call asking us if we were coming. We told them we were going out of town, but then they changed the time of the party for us so we could make it. Of course we said we’d be there, which meant we’d have to be wary of when we left Montreal.

On our last day in the city, we figured it would take about three hours to get back home, which was off by about two hours. We were so late, it was ridiculous. It didn’t help that we’d chosen the long way, thinking it was shorter. It took us about two hours just to get out of Canada, and by the time we’d even crossed the border, it was three o’clock, and the party was supposed to end at 5:00. We basically had two hours to get from the Canadian border to Dartmouth, which was a stretch. R, however, was up to the task, and she burned rubber all the way home. I was in the passenger seat because of my back, and in a way, that was good, because if I were the one driving that fast, she would have berated me.

At some point we were kicking ourselves because we should have just said that we couldn’t make it, we were going to be away. Now we had to alter our plans and leave early, cutting short our stay in Montreal, and we were also stressing out about getting home. We finally got home around 5:00PM, and they were still hanging out and even delayed some of the festivities for our benefit. It was nice, the kids were excited and had fun, and because we were so late, it was short and sweet.

Not over, yet, of course. We then headed over to the UF field where they had a great crowd of people, and I went home and got ready for my hockey game. I was late, but not too late, though I missed UF, which is a bummer. After my game, I jetted home, where A had made supper for she and her brother, she’s such a good big sis, and then it was time for bed.

Nice to be home, though our trip back was nutty. Then again, that’s the story of our lives, right?

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Jery 'Riverman and iamTalking s t i c k

for the pics.