They arrived in San Antonio, because I’m still on a project here and it was closer to drive to the ranch. We left the airport around 5:30 and headed … that’s right … WEST!
It’s supposed to be a 3 ½ hour drive and Mike and Donna (the Ranch’s proprietors) had planned to make soup for our anticipated late arrival. Along the way, me, the ever committed multi-tasker, foolishly thought, I could easily attend my, by phone, 90 minute coaching class as we drove. This class was the first “coach the coach” class and I was scheduled to be a “client” so it was something I could not miss. As luck would have it, of course, the very instant I started to talk as the client, I mean literally the first syllable out of my mouth, phone service dropped. Oh S----! I hurried and dialed back and pulled over the vehicle. The teacher, rightfully irritated, asked if I was driving. I replied, sheepishly, “not anymore” (I hate to get into trouble) and so, unfortunately, we had to stay stopped until my class finished.
While I participated in the class, Debbie and Katy sat on the curb in the parking lot we had stopped at and talked. It made me smile, and jealous, to watch the gestures of their conversation. Laughing one minute and super serious another.
We’d been back on the road an hour or so, after my class finished, when Mike texted “where are you?” Instantly I felt that “in trouble” panic again because we’re late and not even close to where we should be by this time. I asked Katy to reply where we were. Once we reached Ozona, TX, I texted Mike again to let him know where we were and he says “Great, you’re only about 45 minutes out and I’ll warm up soup”. A sigh of relief, maybe I’m not in trouble after all. Ok, why I have an issue with getting "in trouble" is a topic for another day.
The remainder of the drive was dark and desolate. I thought my eyes were peeled when, what seemed to appear out of nowhere, a deer was standing in the middle of our lane. I hit the brakes but also knew swerving one way or another would most likely be needed in order to miss him. Which way? The rule of thumb is, don't swerve at all, and if you absolutely have to swerve, do so towards their rear end because if they decide to bolt they’ll typically bolt away from their rear end. Years of driving in Utah, I knew this! However, inexplicably, instead I swerved towards his front end. The deer turned and ran the way he came. Heart pounding and a little shaky, accident avoided. Debbie said “good job, you’re doing good”. Katy added "yeah, you're doing good".
We arrived, had soup and went to bed. The next morning was simply beautiful. The attached picture is from outside our cabin. As I took this picture, I couldn’t help but be filled with a sense of peace, fullness and gratitude. I realized, again, for the gazillionth time, how much I appreciate my sisters. There they were riding in the dark, what turns out to be 5 ½ hours, to a place they really knew little about except I felt strongly about showing it to them and that’s all they needed to be in! No complaints, no apprehensions, well not verbalized anyway.
In that moment, with this incredible sky, I felt their trust, their support, their encouragement and their love!
Sylvia