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It was Friday the 13th and by all
accounts it seemed like bad luck would be the only kind of
luck we'd have that day.? I am not a superstitious person,
by nature, but I must admit, the following day's events
almost seemed doomed to disaster.
This was the day our youngest child was
graduating from college. Illinois State University was the
place of destination. Our day was planned.? We were to
arrive at her apartment, go to a nice restaurant for an
early dinner and have plenty of time to make it to? her
graduation that was scheduled for 7:00 P.M.
We were running late but that was not
the issue at hand.? Our real concern was the treacherous
thunderstorms and their impending impact on our travels.
With a two hour ride ahead of us we
decided to stop for a sandwich to munch on the way.
It was then that our marathon of
misfortune seemed to be in full swing.? Pulling out of the
parking lot a large ker-plunk sound had us wondering
what? had just? fell from under the engine.? Seconds later
Bill realized he could barely maneuver the wheel to steer
the Explorer in traffic. The rain was, by now, beyond being
a downpour. Steering was almost as impossible as seeing
through the windshield of blinding rain.? Bill managed to
park the car safely in front of our house but we were only
now realizing our real dilemma.? Time was ticking away and
we were beginning to worry that we may miss our daughter's
graduation.
Frantically flipping through the Yellow
Pages yielded a dead end. Apparently this was a big weekend
for car rentals. There were no autos available anywhere.? A
call to our favorite mechanics left Bill with phone in hand
as an answering machine relayed the recorded message that
they were too swamped to take any calls.
Bill took a chance and drove the short
distance to Sinclair's auto repair shop? in hopes that one of
the marvelous mechanics would deem our dire situation a
priority.? It was our only hope.? Pat, from Sinclair,
assured Bill the problem would be taken care of.? A broken
fan belt was the culprit and within an hour we were on the
road again.
We arrived downstate much later than
expected.? We raced to the restaurant with barely enough
time to eat.? From there we sat in traffic as everybody and
their brother headed toward the Red Bird Arena for the
graduation. Katie found her class and we were lucky enough
to find a flower vendor who was selling $3.00 worth of
flowers for $25.00.
After sitting through the three hour
ceremony we watched as our baby crossed the stage to receive
her diploma. through happy tears and ear to ear smiles we
witnessed a milestone that would be filed away in the memory
banks of our grateful hearts.
? It took us an hour after the ceremony
to find our beloved graduate. The girl who takes her cell
phone everywhere left it in the car, causing us to get lost
in a sea of 2000 college kids and their family and friends
as we? tried to find our daughter.
After walking around what seemed like
the whole campus it finally dawned on us to go back by the
car.? Sure enough there was our Katie, leaning up against
the back door like a forgotten soul. We could've killed her
for causing all this commotion by forgetting the cell phone,
but instead we hugged her and handed her the now wilted
bouquet.? The Polaroids were snapped in the parking lot, in
the dead of night.
It wasn't exactly the way we had
envisioned this special night.? Ahead of us was the two hour
ride back home with the threat of more thunderstorms leading
the way.
At first glance it may have appeared
that? this bit of? bad luck was the direct result of an
unlucky date on the calendar. But,? I don't buy that.
Things could've been so much worse.? If
we had? been on schedule that morning our car catastrophe
could've happened on the highway, miles and miles from home.
And the reality is that we could've actually missed our
daughter's? farewell from college.
Had I been a superstitious person I
might have blamed the blunders on Friday the 13th, though? I
know bad luck had nothing to do with it.
I like to think we were showered with
blessings from above.
Everything in life happens for a
reason.. This was one day when? I was thankfully reminded
that things can always be worse.
Life's best laid plans may not? always
pan out to be? a picture of perfection.
But when families share life's most
special moments the memories surely end perfectly happy no
matter what the circumstances.?
Kathy Whirity lives in Chicago where
she shares her life and love with her husband of 28 years,
Bill, their two daughters Jaime and Katie, and two
rambunctious retrievers, Holly and Hannah.? Kathy is a
newspaper columnist who writes? sentimental musings on family
life.? You may reach her by e-mail
kathywhirity@yahoo.com
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