The LONG ROAD to the Car

Balancing an angel food cake in the crook of my elbow, I picked up another cake carrier with my left hand before slinging my black and white chevron bag filled with birthday gifts over my right shoulder.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"Yep!" my dad responded.

"Oh no," my mom said. "I need to go to the bathroom first."

Dropping my bag to the floor, I set the cakes gently on the table and ran to the front of the house to grab the dog so she wouldn't run toward the front door when mom came back in to go to the bathroom. If the dog escaped, she would be gone forever.

Mom shuffled into the bathroom while I put the dog on my bed. Suddenly, I heard dad's walker scraping across the front hallway.

"Dad!" I yelled. "Don't go outside until we are with you."

"I'm not," he lied. "I'm just getting ready to go outside."

"Ok, I am ready," Mom interrupted.

I ushered her toward the front of the house, placing her cane in her hand. Once again, I loaded my arm up with cakes, grabbed my keys and pulled my bag up over my arm. I hurried to the front door. The dog was secure but I had to make sure that no parents escaped the front door without me.

"Let me run all of this to the car and then I will come back up to the house to get you," I said firmly.

I packed up the car and rushed back to the front porch where I helped my mom down the first set of steps, followed by holding my dad's walker still on every other step while he leaned his full body weight on it to descend from the porch. Slowly we walked to the second set of steps where we repeated the process. Once they were both firmly standing on flat land, I ran back to the car and opened the doors for them. We loaded up. I buckled mom's seat belt and then jumped into the driver's seat.

We were finally  ready for the 15 mile ride to my sister's house for dinner which took us as long as it did just to get in the car.

Until next time,

Michele