Nana on the go...day 1

Nana on the go….Today I started my 3 week trip to Nebraska and North Dakota....
I thought I would enlighten you on the things you cannot do anything about in the hours before you leave on a trip.
Last night I had to figure out if I should sleep before I got on the shuttle to go to SEATAC at 1:40 AM. I decided that I should try so at 9:30 PM I decided that we should try to sleep before 1 when we would have to “wake up” and head for the shuttle.
So I went to “couch” because I take NAPS on the couch. I fall asleep right away. My body was ready…but it didn’t communicate that with my head. My mind was WIDE awake. Here are the problems I faced with my wandering mind....
Earlier in the evening, I would be in the bedroom packing and I would come down stairs. Steve asked the same thing EVERY time…. "Are you done packing?” So I would trudge upstairs, feeling dejected and lonely, and continue packing. (Okay so I did take some time to watch the last part of 102 Dalmatians…) I didn’t have a list so I just packed…I always have a list. You are thinking…so this is a problem How?????
Here is how: On the couch, I started thinking that I had forgotten something. Now when you don’t have a list, you have to rely on your memory…not something that I should ever do. I would think and think (that sounds so much better than obsessing and stressing and being anxious) about what I could have forgotten. Example: Oh, I should pack my cord from my phone to my computer (I have NEVER used it…but I thought I should pack it?) OR I didn’t pack that shirt…which one would I wear instead of it? Some very important things were bouncing around in that very busy brain of mine.
I also started to panic about getting into the house where we are staying in Fargo NEXT Saturday! Now, when it is 3 am no one really wants you to call them. Here was my question: Would I remember in the morning to talk to Betty (Jon's mom)???? Obviously, it did stay with me.
Should I bring thread to mend Mazie’s skirt? What about the buttons, should I bring them and ask Mazie if she wanted a button on her bow? (I made her a new skirt...)
And my favorite…I made a COMPLETE plan for getting the kids to bed and pick up after themselves. It even included Jon and Betsy when they returned home. (BTW: Betsy was really excited about my idea; Jon, on the other hand, had a look that was barely tolerating my idea.) I had stories and story ideas that I could tell the kids.
Let’s not forget their dog, Lacy. I can’t even go there with those concerns…but, Jon, Betty (Jon’s mom), and the kids were not happy that we stopped in S. Dak!
By this time, I had been on the couch, moved to our bed, and went back to the couch.
I decided that it was really stupid to waste my energy on all of this mindless stuff…it was now 11:00 and I had 2 hours. So I decided to pray.

I prayed for my friend who just found out she had breast cancer that God would fill her with His peace. I prayed for another friend deciding whether he should do another round of chemo that God would give them wisdom. I prayed for a friend is starting a new career today (at the age of 53) that God would fill her with courage. I prayed for our children that they would become the men and women that God would have them be. I prayed for our grandchildren that they would become a person who falls at their knees before the King of Kings. I prayed for my husband who has been so supportive of me and puts up with all of the things that I do to him. I prayed for grandparents who are worried about their grandchildren, those who are raising their grandchildren, and those whose children are not following Christ. I prayed for friends who are expecting their first grandchild. And God filled me with peace and I slept…not for long…but a peace filled sleep and I praise Him for His rest and thank Him that I really can’t add a minute to my day with worry….
The alarm went off at 1 am and I was on the shuttle at 1:30 headed for SEATAC…God is a God who takes our concerns and gives us the peace that He is in control of our lives.