To grandmother's house we go...

Every year Shane and I travel to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family. The drive is roughly 8 hours from our hometown. One year it was close to 13 hours because of traffic. So, we never quite now what we are getting into.

This year we had to drive two cars down because we are leaving one at our destination. I knew it had to be done, but I was less than thrilled. Duty calls.

Before the trip Shane over heard me talking to my mom... "The drive is going to be miserable." (really drawing out the miserable part).

Later Shane confronted me stating, "It's not going to be miserable."

"Yes it is." I said stubbornly, "Eight hours in the car by myself and in traffic. It's going to be miserable. But, we have to do it!"

He ended it at that, but I could tell he was put off by pessimistic attitude.

So, we woke up Thanksgiving morning at 4:30am and took off. Thirty minutes later it was pouring down rain. POURING down rain... and Shane discovered the wind shield wipers didn't work on his vehicle. We pulled over at the gas station. Closed.

We are wet and cold running from one car to the other. We went to Walmart, ran through the rain and pick up some Rain X for his windows (only after a debate in the store about if it would actually work).

I complained that there was no Starbucks.
I complained that one gas station was closed.
I complained that the other gas station's credit card machine was down.
I complained about the high fees from ATM's.
I complained about the rain.
I complained about the cold.
I complained about being hungry.
I complained about the zits on my face.
I COMPLAINED ABOUT EVERYTHING.

Shane was less than Thankful that I had vocal cords at that moment.

That might have been the reason he left the gas station, claiming he thought I was behind him, when really I was still in the parking lot stewing in my sea of complaints. Oh and did that give me a chance to exaggerate everything! "YOU LEFT ME!!" I exclaimed with a whiny, annoying voice.

Shane deserves a medal.

To be honest, the rest of the drive was fine. More than fine, actually enjoyable. I listened to a book on tape that was very funny. I called my family and friends and expressed how thankful I was that they were each in my life. Shane and I made faces at each other through the windows, laughing at how quickly we can be back in 3rd grade. We made it to our destination much quicker than I thought and without traffic.

Our destination was the hospital where Shane's grandmother is over Thanksgiving this year. She'll be out soon, but the tears in her eyes and her very sad smile show her disappointment that she is not hosting her usual big feast.

"How was your drive?" she asked

Shane eyed me. "It was just fine" I said meaning it.

Suddenly everything changes from the perspective of the hospital.

I hope your Thanksgiving day was a happy one. Filled with love, happy memories and relaxation. Ours was ... and still is. I am thankful that my husband has patience. I am also thankful for the lesson I learned.

Don't judge an experience before it happens. Be careful to label something as going to be "miserable" or a terrible thing to do. If you are going to label it as something, convince yourself that it's going to be pleasant.

You will always get what you are looking for when you have already made up your mind about how it is going to be.