Aaaand Here's Nana & Pop!! Nana? Pop?

My parents embrace life's challenges with gusto and celebrate its joys with verve. Their current move from their little log cabin in Muskoka to join us teaching here in the bush for a year is a pretty good example of facing challenges with gusto (or at least remarkable grace).

They were due to arrive here three days ago. On Wednesday we got a call saying that they were bumping the move a day so they could finish up a few last projects around the house. They are the ultimate DIYers (they have built most of the homes we lived in when I was growing up), so that meant projects like finishing flooring, trim, or staining the exterior.

That postponement was not much of a surprise to me, having lived through several Dix-style moves. Although vague, the memories are flooding back to me now. However, my husband and kids have not experiences that style of move. We are in the middle movers, rent a van, and then do the rest yourself and with friend/family labour. It has worked out pretty well. No one in my immediate family has ever done the pay packers/movers to get your stuff from A to B; we just all have other priorities for the amount of money/debt that would mean (like eating for the next sixth months after the move).

Anyway, one day postponement turned into two as the trailer they were moving all their essentials in was overloaded and needed to be repacked (with the heaviest stuff left behind). Much debate ensued regarding the wisdom of just renting a van (I voted for that one) or trimming the baggage down (that one won).

They were safely off Sunday morning with a message left on our machine saying, "See you in two days."

So last night we waited and watched the road, excited to see them (and the grownups anxious for them to be safe and sound). Instead there was a phone call.

They are stuck in T Bay. The car broke down over Lake Superior and they had a vast tow to the nearest dealership (the downside of driving a Subaru is the few dealerships). I was really impressed with how calm my mom was on the phone; two dogs and a cat in a hotel room in a strange city with a broken down car after sitting at the side of the road waiting for help for five and a half hours. I would be sobbing in a puddle on the floor. But my mom was level and sounded incredibly peaceful. She is one amazing woman!

I am praying that the car just needs a hose replaced and the that can be done in a short while this morning. But I am fearing that they will be stranded in the city for several days.

I have a fresh appreciation for the worry that my parents went through when my sisters and I left home for the first time and they were not sure We would be able to stand on our own two feet. I know that my parents can (stand on their own two feet), they have done so with remarkable grace for my whole life, I just wish that things would go smoothly for them, just this once.

And I am struggling with wanting to jump in my car and drive to rescue them. I know that won't be any help at this point, but it is what my heart is telling me to do instead of this useless waiting.

Prayers for their safe arrival would be appreciated.