The car arrives!

When we awoke, we had hopes that Myla would be released from the hospital today, but as it turned out, her ANC dropped to 50. We will be here at least one more day.

In the meantime, Raul Matthew and I prepared to take a carload of our things back to Kokomo where we would also meet up with Winston and Doris Sears who were towing the Kennedy's gift of the Volvo back to Indiana. After loading the Griswold with most of what remained in our Ronald McDonald House room, we stopped by the hospital room to pick up some additional items. Surprisingly, Melissa had only a couple things for us to carry and not much else to say. That seemed odd to me. There's usually some extra detail she shares about what's in the bags I'm carrying, how to carry them, where to put them once we get home, or something. But this time, nothing. Just a warm smile and a goodbye.

So, out we headed, a bit sooner than I had anticipated. We headed northbound on US 31, a thoroughfare that runs through the heart of Indianapolis. As we were approaching the north side of town, another odd thing was happening a few miles to the east of us: The Sears missed the exit on 465 for 431, an exit they had taken countless of times on their previous trips. My plan was to get to Kokomo an hour or so before they arrived, but they were running a bit ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, I was literally scanning the traffic all around for Volvos because I wanted to see what they looked like. Right then I noticed a white Volvo merging into my line directly in front of me. Then I noticed that it was on a trailer. And it didn't have a licence plate. It was at this point that I realized we had just pulled behind the Sears who were towing our car back to Kokomo.

I had loaded the Sears' phone number on my new cell phone "just in case," so I called Doris and informed her that I was trying to make it up to Kokomo, but things were a bit slow going because there I was stuck behind a truck hauling a white Volvo on a trailer.

This never would have happened had Melissa wanted to talk more at the hospital or if the Sears had not missed the exit they always take. I saw this as just another example of God working out all the details on getting the car up here. Thanks again to both the Sears and Kennedys for making this possible! Here's a picture of them hauling the Volvo in front of us and another of Winston and Doris Sears along with Raul Matthew at a gas stop on the way to Kokomo.

It may sound insignificant, but I found myself almost as excited to get the pine needle and oak leaf that were under the windshield wiper. For me, it was just a little taste of home. I often have longings to return to central Florida like some Jews might have to return to their "homeland," but for different reasons, I'm sure.