Mission: Accomplished?

I'm still mostly a clueless city girl, okay? And I've only once been on what my dad calls a "Rescue Mission".

Translation? Find the poor people who got stranded in our lame truck and bring them home safely. But that other time didn't really count because I didn't actually do anything. I was just along for the ride while Daniel 'rescued' Daddy and our visitors.

This afternoon, Daddy, Willa, and Seth took the truck (after pushing it out of the carport and jumping it via the van) down the road about 3 miles to a place where there are trees down from the tornado this summer to chop some up and haul them back as firewood. Problem was, however, that the truck has to be jumped every time you need to start it. We had hoped when they left that it would start again on its own, but it didn't.

So, Daddy called and told me to bring the van over so we could jump the truck. He had given me directions before he left that I was fairly confident I could follow: "Go to Armstrong and once you get to 50 before you've gone too far, there'll be an open gate with a big yellow sign on it. Go through the field, through the gate, they'll be a shed to the right, and trust me, there's a road back there. We'll be at the bottom."

No problem, right? Sure I'd never been there, but I was familiar with the area... sorta. When Daddy called to say they were ready to leave, I hopped in the car (after an 8 minute search for my driver's license...) with my snowman apron still on and buckled Josiah into his carseat. We wouldn't be long, and by taking Jo, Mommy would be able to get something done.

You know those directions? Well, I interpreted them wrong. For whatever reason, I thought Daddy said to turn in the gate before you get to 50, not after. And, guess what? There were several gates with paths near sheds through fields with down trees right where I thought it was supposed to be. So, I drove down several driveways, passed a couple "private property" signs, added a few scratches to the van, and hoped whoever lived in that trailer was asleep and wouldn't get his gun out. Finally I realized that I was lost and *slaps forehead* I should have brought the other cell phone! DUH. Oh, and another problem.

It was getting dark.

And my family was without lights in the woods. It was a 10 minute drive from our house to where I was then, and there was no way I would be able to make it home, grab the cell phone, and make it to where I was supposed to be before it was completely black outside. (We're in the country remember- no street lights)

There were only two closer phone options: The Coble Country Store and the Lingo's. Since it was a Saturday evening, I figured it probably wasn't the safest thing to visit the place with live karaoke. So I drove 3 minutes farther to the Lingos. Mrs. Lingo was very gracious to let me use her phone and said I was welcome to take it with me. I talked to Daddy, realized my mistake, and then was confident in my directions. It was getting darker. I left the phone on the table with a "Thank you!" to Mrs. Lingo and turned around to leave. Two steps later the phone rang. It was Daddy, "Olivia, ask if you can take the phone with you." So I did.

By this time it was more dark than it was light. I followed my corrected directions and drove down 50. He said there was a gate in a field... Well, the whole side of the road was field and I could barely make out the fence line. Eventually, I passed what I thought was a gate and, Oh! There was Willa in her bright yellow coat that she hates. But, uh.... I was past the turn by a good 200 ft... I'll let those who tease me about it guess how I remedied the problem. ;) Anyway.  I drove through the field, through the gate, past the creepy shed, and down the hidden path to find Daddy parked on the narrow road...

In the meantime, it had gotten purty near complete blackness and purty cold. I, of course, had left without a coat. Daddy asked if I had brought a flashlight. Uh... nope. "I've never done this whole 'rescue' thing before, okay?"

After driving the van into the bushes to get it close enough to the truck to jump it, teaching Willa how to rev the engine, waiting 25 mintues for the battery to try to charge, and Seth and I sitting in the cold truck talking and eating animal crackers we gave the truck up and piled into the van after a 20-point turn around on the narrow road.

At home, after a stop at the Lingo's, there was hot chocolate and spaghetti waiting for us.

And now I know that one should take a coat, flashlight, and cell phone on a "Rescue Mission" to the woods on a December night, not an apron and Josiah.