And the Sun Came Out

tomorrow (well, actually later that same morning for us), but it did shine and things looked better after a bit of sleep.  After some back and forth, we decided to rent a car and head on to Oro Valley.  We couldn't get the car into a repair shop on Saturday anyway so we were probably going to need to make a trip to Cedar in the the following week to figure out car stuff so why not do our trip as plan and then figure out the car stuff along the way.

My total reasoning was this:  If we went home today--Saturday--our trip was about Niki throwing up and hitting a deer--just a bad 12 hours of life.  If we continued on our trip and did the things we planned and shared time with family, then these two things are just part of what made this trip memorable--making memories is one of the great privileges of being human.  They become two events that we triumphed over to reach our goal of spending time with family and visiting Arizona.  That is the story and memory I wanted and that is what we did.

It took a bit to get the rental car and then to swing back around up I-15, over Hwy. 20, and down 89 again to get to the tow yard to get the rest of our luggage from the car.  It was there that we were able to see in the light the damage and I was reminded again how lucky we were that we weren't hurt or the kids not upset in anyway.

As a result of our backtracking, we actually drove past the spot of the accident and saw the deer on the side of the road.  Tosha wanted to stop and take a picture, but we decided that might be distressing to the boys so drove on past.  Tosha and I started talking about why it was us in the front of the convoy of cars--perhaps our insurance was better, or they were all "old drivers," had very important things to do, or maybe we were just tougher and stronger!  Whatever, we knew that we were okay and that we were blessed even despite the deer running into us!  Life happens--it's okay.

Once that was done, the sense of adventure started again and we enjoyed a beautiful drive to Oro Valley.  Again the kids did great.

We arrived into Oro Valley near dusk and Scott and their family were next door visiting their neighbors.  I heard Scarlett shout, "Grandma..." and she came shooting across the yard with her arms wide open.  Then abruptly, about 6' before she reached me, she stopped and with a very stern voice said, "You hit a deer, Grandma."  She was not happy, being the animal lover she is.  "I did hit a deer but not on purpose," then she jumped into my arms and I guess I was forgiven.

We had made it and the fun could begin again!