Holy Smokes! What a day!

For those of you who aren't familiar with my job description, I basically drive to people's homes to work with their children who have special needs. I drive to many places, sometimes up to 2 1/2 hours from my house. Today was one of those days and it did not go well.

I began my adventure at 7:45am when I left my house bound for scenic Cascade, MO. It's more of an area than a town, given that the only store (that also housed the post office) has boards on the windows and a huge "For Sale" sign in the lot. It never ceases to amaze me how many people cannot give directions to their own homes. Case in point, the mother of client number 1 gave me the completely wrong road number today. I spent 45 minutes looking for a road beginning with 300. Her road is number 206. Did I mention that I had been out of cell phone range for 45 minutes and that I really had to go potty?!?!I finally found the house just when I had decided that I was in such dire straits that I was going to have to find a bush and drop the pants. The mom had the nerve to ask why I was 45 minutes late and she had left 3 messages on the cell phone that had no coverage. Give me a break!

I left Cascade bound for Park Hills, one hour away. When I was within 30 minutes of my destination, I called to make sure the family was home. The mother answered and stated that she had forgotten about an appointment and needed to cancel my visit. I agree and schedule her for the 28th. I pull into the A&W at Farmington and order a diet rootbeer. I am now bound for a leisurely stroll through Value City. My phone rings. It's the same mother. The family has cancelled their other appointment and is now at home. They want me to come right away. I leave Value City and drive to Park Hills. I follow the mother's directions and wind up in Desloge, MO. (Home of the greatest WalMart ever!) I call and she explains that when she said "past the truck stop", she really meant "turn left at the truck stop". Really. How do these people function? I stay for 20 minutes and it is very obvious that this child is in no way needing therapy. I leave for Arcadia, MO

Drive was uneventful. I arrive 30 minutes early and stop at the Whistle Junction, my favorite place to by candles. They are closed. I drive around for 20 minutes and suddenly remember that the other therapist wanted me to come early while she was at the home. Crap! I meet her there and stay for an hour. I decide to drive back to Farmington to visit Value City. I get sidetracked and end up at the nail salon near Value City. I get a manicure and pedicure and talk with a very interesting Vietnamese nail technician. I go to Value City, spend $50, and leave for home. I am tired of driving on winding country roads, so I decide to cut over to Ste. Genevieve to catch the interstate back to Jackson. I happen to pass O'Dear What a Memory, a scrapbook store, on this route. (Ok, so maybe this was preconceived, but I really thought she would be closed at 5:30). Deb was placing an order, so I got to shop for a few minutes. She went on the cruise with us, so we had a lot to talk about, My phone rings, I answer, and Greg automatically says, "You're at the scrapbook store, aren't you?" I deny my location until Deb laughs and gives me away. I ended up with an album for the cruise pages and some paper for our trip to Splashin' Safari and Hoiliday World this weekend.

I finally make it back to Jackson and meet Greg, Carson, and my in-laws at The Branding Iron for dinner. We make a quick trip to Ashley Furniture to look for a new couch and loveseat and I finally walked back in my door at 8:30. I am whooped. I came home to two cancellation messages for tomorrow, and I am so happy. (not happy that one of my clients has Scarlett Fever, but grateful for the time off!) Carson has been running a temp all afternoon, so he may be home with me tomorrow. Tomorrow night is Bunco and I think I have Wednesday off. Friday evening we leave for Santa Claus, IN with my parents to visit Holiday World. Should be fun. 'Til tomorrow!