Memories...

Last Friday we enjoyed a family outing to Six Flagg's Marine World and made some memories. It was "Homeschool Day" as well as the very last day of the season. Those of you familiar with homeschool stereo types will not be surprised to hear there were a record number of denim jumper sightings. Thankfully, the weather was gorgeous--something we appreciated even more when three days later a very cold and wet storm descended upon our area.

As we pulled out of the driveway, I began praying for our journey. I was just saying, "And thank You Lord for this privilege..." when I suddenly interrupted myself with a shriek and said, "I forgot the tickets!!!" We made a hasty U-turn, retrieved the tickets, and said a prayer of thanksgiving for the timely reminder!

"Remembering" is not something I take for granted. Truly I was very thankful for that prompting!

Although Scott doesn't have as many forgetting stories as I do, it's really not his strong suit either. Both of us have been known to wander a parking lot trying to remember where we parked. Therefore, it was a case of unusual foresight for us to make a mental note of the row we parked in that morning. Even better, we talked about it aloud with the kids, "Everyone remember, we're in Daffy Duck C." We then put Catie officially in charge of remembering because "C" stands for "Catie".

Other than paying way, way, way too much for the worst buffet ever and getting really nauseated on a couple of rides, the day was a winner! Highlights included the Tiger Splash Down Show, the Dolphin Show and the Killer Whale Show. Scott, Johnny & Catie also gave a big thumbs up to Medusa (that's one of the rides that left me queasy).

We were feeling satisfied as we left the park -- not only did we have a fun day, we actually remembered what row we parked in. However, we were in for a surprise as we approached the parking lot. All the signs were one sided. While the side facing the cars had a perky Daffy with an appropriate letter, the side facing those approaching the parking lot was completely blank. It required one to actually walk into each row so you could read the sign from the opposite side. You'd think when you'd payed $15 to park, that's not theme park admittance mind you, just the fee to park, that it would include 2-sided signs. Oh well...

Thanks to an accident on highway 12, the trip home took about an hour longer than anticipated.
As we were crawling along in our car, I started getting more & more nervous about the meal I'd left in the crock pot. I knew it would be cooking for way longer than it was supposed to be. What would happen if all the liquid evaporated and it started to burn. Did crock pots ever start fires? If it did start a fire, what would happen to our pets? (I know my sister would have been going through the same exact thought process -- especially about the pets.) As we pulled into our court, it was with great relief that I saw our still-standing house, sans smoke. I rushed into the kitchen to find my meal no where near close to burning. In fact it was no where near even warm. I'd forgotten to turn the crock pot on.

As I was musing over the raw chicken that had been sitting out all day, the messages on the answering machine were playing back and one was from our piano teacher calling from outside our house wondering where we were. Bummer. Piano lessons were today. I'd forgotten to tell her we wouldn't be there.

When I called her back to appologize profusely, she made a comment about knowing how organized I was. Yup, that's me alright! Hey, even though I forgot the tickets, the crock pot & the piano lessons, I did remember we were parked in Daffy Duck C. I guess I've got this memory thing down after all!