I want you to sit back and enjoy this short story based on true events.
Chapter 1: The Beginning
Mrs. Rush was sitting at her computer one day when she received an email from her sister in law in Oregon. It read, "We're having a surprise party for Joy (Mr. Rush's mother) in September, do you think you guys can make it?" Mrs. Rush instantly wrote back, "Of course!! We can't wait, count us in, can I do anything to help?" A few more emails and phone calls back and forth and Mrs. Rush was to make the cake for the party. How does one make a cake for a party 16 hours away? Why, they drive up of course with all of their cake decorating things, and their two small children. Riley, who is two and a half and Madison (sometimes referred to as Baby, or Madi) 11 months.
A month passes by and Joy comes to visit the Rush's in California. We have a great visit. Joy is very upset because she's turning 60 and nobody will be there for her birthday, not even her husband. She asks if the Rush's can come up. Mrs. Rush quickly says, "No, we can't. Too expensive, but you can call me and we can have a glass of wine together over the phone." Because that's better than actually being there right? Mrs. Rush quickly wipes her brow, that was close.
Three days before the trip, Mrs. Rush starts preparing for the trip. The 16 hour trip with two small children (sigh..."Why are we not flying, Mrs. Rush thinks to herself.). Mrs. Rush has much to do, pack for four people, grocery shop, Target shop, cake shop, cake pack, clean house, do laundry, work, get the car cleaned, and all that goes along with raising small children.
Mr. and Mrs. Rush discuss when to leave for this trip, what will be easiest on the girls? They decide to leave by 8:00 Wednesday night. Maybe driving through the night will be best, the girls sleep at night, it should be good. Oops, Mr. and Mrs. Rush forgot that they too sleep at night. Oh well, that's how it happens. Sigh..."Why are we not flying?" Mrs. Rush thinks to herself.
Chapter 2: The Drive
The day of the trip, Mrs. Rush awakes by alarm clock by 5:00 am. She has much to do today. Finish packing, clean the house, clean the car, pack the car, pack the food, make the sandwiches, take a shot of tequila, bathe the children, bake the cakes, bathe Mr. Rush, and take a shower herself, oh yes, and work a minimum of 6 hours. All to get ready for the 16 hour trip. Sigh..."Why are we not flying? Mrs. Rush thinks to herself. After her 6 hours of work, an unexpected 3 more hours come flying her way, with an accounting emergency. "Never heard of one?" you ask? They do exist, they do, and they happen at the best of times. So Mrs. Rush is now 3 hours behind schedule. A little panic kicks in. "We have to be in the car by 8:00, that is the latest the girls go to sleep, if we are any later, our entire plan will be ruined." Mrs. Rush thinks to herself. She then goes into her Super Mom, super hero, flash mode and runs around the house frantically to make sure they are ready. Mr. Rush actually makes it home by 6:00 Wednesday night, which worked out perfectly for Mrs. Rush. They surprisingly get everything done, and by 8:05 pm, they pull out of the drive.
Riley is very excited to be sleeping in the car. Mrs. Rush did a good job of convincing Riley that it will be so much fun to sleep in the car. Mrs. Rush decided that she'd start the drive. They get gas. After getting gas Mr. Rush told Mrs. Rush that she could not eat her sandwich until they were really on the road. Mrs. Rush said, "Screw you, I'm starving, I'll eat it now." She finishes her sandwich at the red light before she even gets on the freeway, and says, "Boo ya," to Mr. Rush. They make a stop at the office to drop off work and payrolls, and they are back in the car and off by 8:54 pm.
9:30 pm. The children are sleeping, Mr. Rush is drifting off to sleep, Mrs. Rush is driving. "Why are we not flying?" She thinks to herself, "only 15.5 hours left. All is well, the first hour was the hardest, the second she spent downing cherry diet cokes and head banging to music. The third hour, she had had enough soda and decided she should switch to coffee. Conveniently, there is a Starbucks, but, after further review, it's closed. She settles for McDonalds coffee. "Ouch," she says as she burns her tongue and ruins any tasting she'll do for the next couple of days. The girls woke up during the stop but were able to go back to sleep. She drives for 2.5 more hours and her and Mr. Rush switch.
Mrs. Rush settles in for a few hours rest, when, Riley and Madi both wake up. Beautiful. "Stop, Baby, stop!!!!!!!" Riley screams at the top of her lungs. Apparently, Baby was screaming too loud and Riley didn't like it. This goes off and on for 1.5 hours. Riley keeps telling Mr. and Mrs. Rush that she wants to go home to go night night. Beautiful. To make what was a very long car ride shorter, Mr. and Mrs. Rush make a few more stops, wonder once again why they didn't fly, eat some breakfast, down more caffeine then they ever thought was possible, and finally show up at Melanie and Jared's house at 1:00 pm Thursday. Not bad, Mrs. Rush thinks after she gets out of the car with maybe 30 minutes of sleep in almost 24 hours.
Chapter 1: The Beginning
Mrs. Rush was sitting at her computer one day when she received an email from her sister in law in Oregon. It read, "We're having a surprise party for Joy (Mr. Rush's mother) in September, do you think you guys can make it?" Mrs. Rush instantly wrote back, "Of course!! We can't wait, count us in, can I do anything to help?" A few more emails and phone calls back and forth and Mrs. Rush was to make the cake for the party. How does one make a cake for a party 16 hours away? Why, they drive up of course with all of their cake decorating things, and their two small children. Riley, who is two and a half and Madison (sometimes referred to as Baby, or Madi) 11 months.
A month passes by and Joy comes to visit the Rush's in California. We have a great visit. Joy is very upset because she's turning 60 and nobody will be there for her birthday, not even her husband. She asks if the Rush's can come up. Mrs. Rush quickly says, "No, we can't. Too expensive, but you can call me and we can have a glass of wine together over the phone." Because that's better than actually being there right? Mrs. Rush quickly wipes her brow, that was close.
Three days before the trip, Mrs. Rush starts preparing for the trip. The 16 hour trip with two small children (sigh..."Why are we not flying, Mrs. Rush thinks to herself.). Mrs. Rush has much to do, pack for four people, grocery shop, Target shop, cake shop, cake pack, clean house, do laundry, work, get the car cleaned, and all that goes along with raising small children.
Mr. and Mrs. Rush discuss when to leave for this trip, what will be easiest on the girls? They decide to leave by 8:00 Wednesday night. Maybe driving through the night will be best, the girls sleep at night, it should be good. Oops, Mr. and Mrs. Rush forgot that they too sleep at night. Oh well, that's how it happens. Sigh..."Why are we not flying?" Mrs. Rush thinks to herself.
Chapter 2: The Drive
The day of the trip, Mrs. Rush awakes by alarm clock by 5:00 am. She has much to do today. Finish packing, clean the house, clean the car, pack the car, pack the food, make the sandwiches, take a shot of tequila, bathe the children, bake the cakes, bathe Mr. Rush, and take a shower herself, oh yes, and work a minimum of 6 hours. All to get ready for the 16 hour trip. Sigh..."Why are we not flying? Mrs. Rush thinks to herself. After her 6 hours of work, an unexpected 3 more hours come flying her way, with an accounting emergency. "Never heard of one?" you ask? They do exist, they do, and they happen at the best of times. So Mrs. Rush is now 3 hours behind schedule. A little panic kicks in. "We have to be in the car by 8:00, that is the latest the girls go to sleep, if we are any later, our entire plan will be ruined." Mrs. Rush thinks to herself. She then goes into her Super Mom, super hero, flash mode and runs around the house frantically to make sure they are ready. Mr. Rush actually makes it home by 6:00 Wednesday night, which worked out perfectly for Mrs. Rush. They surprisingly get everything done, and by 8:05 pm, they pull out of the drive.
Riley is very excited to be sleeping in the car. Mrs. Rush did a good job of convincing Riley that it will be so much fun to sleep in the car. Mrs. Rush decided that she'd start the drive. They get gas. After getting gas Mr. Rush told Mrs. Rush that she could not eat her sandwich until they were really on the road. Mrs. Rush said, "Screw you, I'm starving, I'll eat it now." She finishes her sandwich at the red light before she even gets on the freeway, and says, "Boo ya," to Mr. Rush. They make a stop at the office to drop off work and payrolls, and they are back in the car and off by 8:54 pm.
9:30 pm. The children are sleeping, Mr. Rush is drifting off to sleep, Mrs. Rush is driving. "Why are we not flying?" She thinks to herself, "only 15.5 hours left. All is well, the first hour was the hardest, the second she spent downing cherry diet cokes and head banging to music. The third hour, she had had enough soda and decided she should switch to coffee. Conveniently, there is a Starbucks, but, after further review, it's closed. She settles for McDonalds coffee. "Ouch," she says as she burns her tongue and ruins any tasting she'll do for the next couple of days. The girls woke up during the stop but were able to go back to sleep. She drives for 2.5 more hours and her and Mr. Rush switch.
Mrs. Rush settles in for a few hours rest, when, Riley and Madi both wake up. Beautiful. "Stop, Baby, stop!!!!!!!" Riley screams at the top of her lungs. Apparently, Baby was screaming too loud and Riley didn't like it. This goes off and on for 1.5 hours. Riley keeps telling Mr. and Mrs. Rush that she wants to go home to go night night. Beautiful. To make what was a very long car ride shorter, Mr. and Mrs. Rush make a few more stops, wonder once again why they didn't fly, eat some breakfast, down more caffeine then they ever thought was possible, and finally show up at Melanie and Jared's house at 1:00 pm Thursday. Not bad, Mrs. Rush thinks after she gets out of the car with maybe 30 minutes of sleep in almost 24 hours.
Chapter 3: The Visit
Riley was not herself for the entire visit. She was an alien being. Little did Mr. and Mrs. Rush know, she had a small stomach flu. Nice. Mr. and Mrs. Rush visited with Melanie, and Jared and Grand Dad came home on Friday in the afternoon (early from hunting) to spend time with the Rush's. Mrs. Rush spent Thursday night crumb coating her cakes and making chocolate mousse filling and most of Friday decorating her cakes. She finished by 6:00 pm Friday, just in time for dinner and bedtime routine for the girls.
Saturday, the big day. The party was at 1:00, all guests were to show up by 12:30. Joy still had no clue that anyone was there for her birthday. Melanie told Joy she was taking her to lunch and to make another long story short, everyone surprised her. She was shocked. Jared had Mr. and Mrs. Rush be a second surprise as to hopefully make his mother pee her pants. Mrs. Rush had her money down on Joy needing new pants after the surprise. Joy was so thrilled, there are no words to describe how she felt that day, which is good, because that makes this short story even shorter.
Saturday night, Melanie made everyone Taco Soup and they all visited. Mrs. Rush packed everything back up while everyone visited and then Mr. Rush packed the car back up to head over to Nana (Joy) and Grand Dad's house for the night. They visited more there and Mrs. Rush had a glass of wine with Nana. They discussed how it was much nicer to have a glass of wine in person than over the phone. They laughed. They are funny people.
Chapter 4: The Drive...home
5:00 am. Sunday morning. Mr. and Mrs. Rush pack sleeping children up into the car. They say their good byes. The children wake up. They fall back to sleep after getting gas and ice and coffee for Mr. and Mrs. Rush. The caffeine party continues. About an hour into the trip home, Riley gets car sick. Yes, this means that Mrs. Rush was able to catch most of Riley's vomit in a bundle of baby wipes before it went splattering onto the back of Mr. Rush's seat. Mrs. Rush gets five points. About three hours in, the family of four stop because they are afraid that Riley might be getting sick again. They all get out, Mrs. Rush changes the children's clothes, Baby's diaper, and they get into a fight with a bee. After a very heated battle between Mr. Rush and the bee, the Rush's re-enter the vehicle and start driving again. Mr. Rush tells Mrs. Rush, "we are almost a quarter of a way done." This gives Mrs. Rush the idea to treat the trip home like a football game. By quarters. She also decides that it would be fun to keep score. The one with the most points wins.
Scoring:
A child falling asleep: +5 points each
A child throwing a fit: -5 to - 10 points depending on the severity of the fit
Anything that adds more hours onto the trip: -5 points
Anything that makes the trip easier: +5 points
The players:
Mr. Rush and Mrs. Rush (they play as a team)
Riley
Madison, aka Madi, aka Baby
the Bee
The easiest way to explain the drive home would be with the scores of all players. Riley's entire body hurt the whole way home, Madi was pretty much an angel, Mr. Rush was pretty good. Mrs. Rush ended up looking like a nightmare, and the bee, he didn't stick with the family for long.
The final scores:
Madison was the winner with... +30 points
Riley was the loser with... -1,560 points
Mr. and Mrs. Rush ended with ... +15 points
The Bee ended with... +10 points
The moral of the story: Never, I repeat, never go on a road trip that is 16 hours long with two small children....Ever, unless you want to be crazy.
THE END
