road trip 2

Aaaagggghhh!
Almost straight after I finished the last post (not the music) I heard the loud thud of Erin rolling off the bed and onto the floor. She wasn't hurt but very shocked! The ensuing screams and sobs went on for more than an hour, and had everyone in the house awake (seeing as by that time everyone in the house had gone to bed). It took a long time of cajoling and soothing before she and Lily calmed down and finally went back to sleep. I crashed on the mattress next to the bed. A few hours later I awoke feeling cold, and moved each of them from the bed to the mattress. I then crashed on the bed and didn't wake till next morning when they were creeping up to surprise me and wake me up. I was pretty wrecked and was seriously worried that I would definitely struggle to stay awake during the drive home.
Nonetheless, after some coffee and a nice walk on Dutchmans Beach, I felt fine and headed off from my brother's house feeling positive and happy. About 45 mins into the trip, the traffic came to a standstill and didn't progress for more than an hour. Two trucks had collided, both drivers were flown to hospital, and the passengers in cars on the F3 switched off their engines and made the most of the novelty of playing on the highway.
Erin and Lily were very good and patient but after an hour it was necessary to let them out of the car for everyone's sanity. The air conditioning was letting us down again.
Naturally we'd only been standing on the roadside for a short while when I saw the flashing lights of an RTA car. I ushered the girls off the road and back into the car. The RTA vehicle went past saying happily, "The traffic is moving now. Go now." Yeah right. Strapping two two-year olds into a car is never an easy thing, but when there is pressure from the 1000 stranded drivers behind you it is downright hilarious. Imagine telling Lily that we need to rush!! Talk about power!! (Hers I mean.)
The trip was hot, long and really wearing. Erin whinged solidly for the last 30 minutes, "I need to get out..." I agreed wholeheartedly, fighting with peak hour traffic as we came through the Sydney suburbs, heading directly into the late afternoon sun!! I was so happy to be home.
I had prayed a lot about being able to keep the girls safe in the car and to stay focused on driving over a long distance on a fairly monotonous freeway. God didn't just uphold my prayer, he showed me that I could do what I needed to do even in some really uncomfortable conditions.
So I feel confident I could do it again - but very very keen to stay at home for the foreseeable future.