Yesterday was a day of all days for me. My very first trip driving to Seattle all by myself to purchase Boys Scout Uniforms for 9 & 6. What I really wanted to do was go with my hubby, but we kinda waited till the last minute so it was up to me ~ Super Kristie!! Hubby had emailed me directions when he got to work in the morning, and wrote " Just follow these direction and you will be fine my love. And to go home just back track EXACTLY." Seriously he wrote exactly all in caps because he knows what an absolute goofball I am. I always, always get mixed up when going somewhere new all by myself, but I though " I got directions, I can do this!"
So after my shower I got all gussied up, grabbed Fritz (our German Shepherd) who is now my partner in crime, and headed out the door. Uh, hello! Aren't you forgetting something? Dang! I left the directions inside! Figures! Grabbed the directions and off we went!
First stop, get some gas! I don't know about you but I hate to get gas for some reason. I always try to time it perfectly that I will need to get gas when hubby is off work. Isn't that bad! So anyway, following the directions we took off. Now most of the way I was totally familiar with because I had been in the area with hubby over the 11 months that we have been here, and I do try to take a look around. So I felt very confident still thinking " I can totally do this!" But then getting closer to my destination, I was getting closer to Seattle, and closer to traffic, "Yikes" and getting a little bit nervous. Then.... you guessed it, I took the wrong exit. I was suppose to exit off to I-90E heading toward Spokane, and well with all the traffic and my nerves I saw "Spokane" on an exit and took it. OH, MY, GOODNESS!!! I knew immediately that I had totally screwed myself and panic totally set in. I grabbed my phone as I was driving over the West Seattle bridge, no way of turning back, and called hubby. Of course he didn't answer! The nerve! Didn't he know his little, helpless wife was driving to nowhere land and would be needing his help! "Okay, I can still do this!?!" My heart was leaping out of my chest, but I made it across the bridge, took the first right I could and turned around. Back over the bridge I went "back tracking" like hubby suggested. Got back on the I-5 going south now, and realizing that the exit I should be taking is further north on the 5! Soooo, I exited again on the nearest exit I could praying to God that it would be so simple to get back on the 5 north. Thankfully again, I was in an area that hubby and I had been in maybe 6 months ago. Back on 5 north, took the right exit this time "Yippee" and got to the area I needed to go.
It took a while, and another turn around and I found the BSA store. Got some help because the Pack did not give us a list of what to get, paid $180, and out the door I went. "Get me the heck out of here!" "Back track, back track" I was saying over, and over in my head. Uh, no way to get back on the I-90 w any where close by. Here we go again!
I finally made it back to my area, pulled over and got Fritz and I some lunch. Then, because I was so distraught, I had to do a little retail therapy to calm my nerves at the local thrift store.
When I got home, I sent my hubby and lovely, caring, "Thank you so much", email and basically told him "Next time you send your wife to an area she's never driven before, keep your phone close by." "Fritz and I are so frazzled we're taking a nap"! And I did! And you want to know what! After getting to the Cub Scout meeting that evening ~ None of the new kids had their uniforms yet. Figures!
