safe at last

There have been a few memorable trips up and down the East Coast highways, an all day rainstorm, a couple of accidents that halted our progress for hours, but this trip combined all of these, making for a very long 2 day expedition. We attempted to leave the farm at 4:30am on Friday only to be forced to turn around when some engine and electrical issues in the van gave us concern. They seemed to resolve themselves and we again started out 2 hours later. The remnants of tropical storm Nicole was our companion through Massachusetts and Connecticut which left my hands sore from the physical exertion in keeping the van on course. We decided to stay the night in New Jersey only to find out after a very long traffic jam that the van's brake lights had been non functional for much of the day (it was only due to the diligence of our guardian angels that we had not been rear-ended).

After a long night with little sleep for me (Julia Ellen didn't care for the sleeping arrangements) we again took to the road and finally arrived back at our Virginia house in time to get some Chinese take-out for supper. I have a lot of organizing and arranging to do in order to be able to do school on Monday, the schoolroom/sewing room is a huge mess and I'm at a loss of how to begin. First though we will go to Mass and receive spiritual nourishment and grace from the Sacraments. I'm sure the task ahead of me, just like the 800 mile trip we just completed, will be accomplished one small task at a time.