54 Hours

A worldwind trip to take our beloved grandson home for Christmas. He is the best little boy and travels so well. It is so easy to enjoy life when he is around. He was with us for 2 weeks earlier this month.  We got his picture taken with Santa. He saw polar bears at the zoo. He loved us unconditionally and we loved him equally.  I have said this before. Hugs and love from Ollie is the best.

My sweetie says after pancakes and bacon breakfast lets go. Load up the car. We are off. This was the first Christmas I have ever gone by car anywhere outside the city. I was embarking on this adventure with the two most important people in my life. An adventure 54 hours in the making.

As we headed west from the city I could hear the negative predicated by fear voices of my past. The roads will be poor, your car doesn't have snow tires and on and on. For about an hour these voices were in my head.

Well the roads were great, a little snow blown west of Llyodminister and no snow in rural Saskatchewan. We stopped overnight at a great hotel. Got upgraded to a king suite. It was great to see Ollie explore this huge room. He enjoyed watching himself watch TV in the full floor to ceiling mirror.

The adventure continued Christmas morning. After a great breakfast and a send off from the cat lady front desk clerk. Three hours later we dropped Ollie off at his parents place. He was so happy to see his mom and sad as we were to see him go.

About an hour and half into our return trip we saw a man hitchhiking. We passed him and thought for sure someone would stop and pick him up. My sweetie and I looked at each other and we knew we had to go back and pick him up. It was Christmas after all. This gentleman Mike was so grateful for the ride that as soon as he got into the back seat he fell asleep and had 2 hours of restorative sleep. We said our goodbyes at the next major stop. Who knows what his story was. We were grateful that we provided a few hours of peace for this gentleman. Good adventure Mike where ever it takes you.

The rest of the day was uneventful until our hotel room in Regina. We were both convinced it was haunted. Weird noises and the phone ringing in the middle of the night. An experience none the less.

The fear of travelling in winter, the fear of hitchhikers and haunted hotel rooms made for a wonderful Christmas experience. The best part was sharing and spending it with the love of my life. Life lessons learned were take risks, be kind, be compassionate, show empathy, walk a mile in someone else's shoes, show no judgement, embrace life and live without fear.