July 1: Dude, Where's My Car?

Today’s post is dedicated to Linda Twellman, who is one of the strongest women I know. No one could have felt the loss of Amanda more than she, but she was always so strong in her faith and a real model for others on living with loss.

“Vulnerability is having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome. Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.” Brene Brown

So I got up early and just like a pro I hitched up my trailer to my car, disconnected all the electricity and plumbing. We headed off to Nashville. There was a ton of traffic and it was raining most of the way there. I was meeting Aaron’s mother-in-law, Amanda’s mom at 1:00. I arrived in Nashville around 12:00, so I went to the Parthenon. It’s a full size replica. It even has a replica of Athena inside. We didn’t go in, but I got some awesome pics of the outside and the grounds. We had a very pleasant walk around. I was first going to meet Linda at the Old Opry Mall, so I headed there. I got all the way there, took two pics and then realized I had gotten another text from her changing our meeting spot to Chuy’s in downtown Nashville. I found a place to park that didn’t seem that far from the restaurant, but once I got out of the car and started walking with the dogs, I got turned around and a 5 minute walk turned into a 20 minute walk.Finally, I found the restaurant and we had a very nice visit, a margarita, and good food. !@#$%, I forgot to take pictures. When we finished lunch it was pouring rain. Linda was nice enough to offer us a ride to our car, but unfortunately, I forgot where I parked it. “How did I lose my car with a 19 ft. trailer attached to it?” you ask. The answer is, I have no idea. The margarita was not that strong. While we were searching, I remembered that Aaron put a tracking device on my car. I called him and he was able to give me the location. So all the empowerment I was feeling this morning was gone in a dash. That’s what God does when you get too cocky. He takes you down a peg and makes you feel your vulnerability.As Brene Brown tells us, Vulnerability is really where your courage lies and God is not letting forget that on this trip.

I was supposed to go all the way to Indianapolis today, or so I thought. At 6:30 I stopped to get gas and noticed a KOA nearby. They gave me their last pull through spot for the night. When I called the KOA in Indianapolis to cancel my reservation there, they said that I didn’t have a reservation. I guess the Universe was looking out for me there. I would have had to pay on such short notice cancelling. So here I am in Horse Cave, Kentucky for the night.