When did the Vacation Gods ever play favorites?

It was a few years back that a friend filed this from the Vacation Road. She did the writing because her husband was unable to write. Or read. Or eat. Or think too straight.

“Somewhere In Texas: Has poured down so lakes and pounds on ranch are overflowing. Thunderstorms so no fishing.

“Husband developed toothache.

“Went to dentist and car got stuck in mud. Had to be towed out by tractor.

“First dentist sent us to Austin for root canal. Tooth is fractured, so sent to oral surgeon. Will have tooth extracted tomorrow.

“He is zoned out on pain meds and can barely open his mouth to eat.”

(And then here is my favorite part…)

“But we are glad to have this great family time.”

HA! In other words, it’s Mrs. Lincoln writing to say that the popcorn wasn’t very good but “other than that, I really enjoyed the play.”

Our Sunday School teacher who received the note forwarded it to us and requested, “Please pray for this couple as they head home on Sunday.” I suspect everyone did. Hard. And finished with, “Lord, please don’t let any of that happen to me on vacation. If I’m going to get a toothache at Six Flags and if my son is going to vomit on my new shirt while we ride Judge Roy Scream, please make my car not start and all my credit cards get stolen before we leave.”

I saw the hard-luck husband back at church the next week. All smiles. I told him their vacation had read like an episode of “Survivor.”

But he lit up like the family Christmas tree. He doesn’t laugh loud, he just smiles big, and he put his hands in his pockets and shrugged as if that were the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard, and said there was nothing to it, not really, that it was so great just seeing everybody, just being with everybody again, toothache or not, rain or not, car stuck in the mud or not. They’d had a ball. Can’t wait to go back, he said, still behind that big satisfied smile.

It wasn’t tough luck. Just part of that adventure. And that sounds like our kind of vacation.

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