We lived in the great state of Texas for just over five years…and we loved it! One of the things we had always wanted to do while living there was spend a day at Six Flags Over Texas Amusement Park. Well, somehow that never happened.
So, that’s been on our family “bucket list” for a long while. We knew one of these days we would manage to make that happen…but time is slipping away as our daughter is a Senior in High School.
Well, hubby got this great idea late last week that we would just up and go during Spring Break! So last Friday night he asked if I’d get a hotel and he’d take care of everything else. I was on it…quick – I went on Priceline.com and got an epically amazing deal at a 4 star hotel directly across the street from Six Flags! My job done, I excitedly stood by as I watched hubby tell of the great adventure we were FINALLY going to go on to fulfill the years long dream of Six Flags! Woo Hoo!
Each teen was told they could invite a friend to come along, hubby bought road snacks and got the oil changed in the car and late Sunday afternoon we drove nearly six hours to Texas! The ride was long, but filled with anticipation and conversation around our plan to conquer as many rides as possible…we had great fun during our road trip!
As hubby left the car to check into the hotel the rest of us chatted excitedly about the fresh fun-filled day that was just hours away!
Picture with me…hubby at the front desk of the hotel – after checking us in he asked the hotel desk clerk what time Six Flags opened in the morning…blank stare…crickets chirping…”uh, Six Flags is not opened tomorrow” – no, no, no, no, no, no…he did not, absolutely DID NOT just say that…epic fail. Smile replaced by furrowed brow, slumped shoulders… my 6 foot 5, 220 pound man shudders, stumbles, weaves and in slow motion slowly but surely comes crashing to the floor of that fancy marble hotel foyer.
Now, while his physical frame did not do that…his “I am Super Dad countenance sure did!” You see, this was all his idea, his plan and he was flying high as the Hero Dad who had fulfilled the dreams of his teens. And now he had the unenviable task of trudging back out to the parking lot and sharing his new found “dream crushing” news to the happy, lively teen and mom contents of his road weary Suburban.
Well, I am happy to report after a few, “Your kidding right?” moments, the teens in the car took the news with a large amount of shock and a larger amount of grace. I mean really…they were stellar in the way they embraced this mountain of a man who was feeling very small at that precise moment.
The sentence I heard that rings in my ears the loudest is, “Well, I guess God has something different for us!”
We had a great time “doing nothing” in Dallas and “doing nothing” all the way home from Dallas. Basically anytime someone wanted to stop…we did. We checked out various locations, businesses and had a lovely afternoon at a Texas State Park just wandering and, well…doing nothing.
Much conversation, much laughter, interesting eats and a Suburban full of memory making.
Yeah…I just wish I could get guaranteed that same rate when we try again this summer and I certainly wish gas prices were not so dadgum high during our “pointless” trip to Dallas. But really…who cares?
Last night when we got home at midnight hubby said, “I wonder what God spared us from?”
Well, I’m not sure what the answer to that question is, but I do know that we enjoyed being together and we made some fantastic memories. For that I am eternally grateful!
That just goes to show you…Spring Break is not about the destination folks, it’s about the journey!
I love it! Way to make lemonade, girl. And what a great life lesson for the teens, too. It’s doubtful this was the only time in their lives they will have to deal with disappointment, and their memory of this experience will immediately mirror grace. I’d say “epic win!” on that.
Hugs,
Lisa