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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: Phew! (02/11/10)
Our great girls’ bonding week started out well enough, but four hours into the trip, my older daughter, Emily somehow managed to lock both set of keys in the trunk. There is no latch release inside the car, something Emily found hard to believe; after all she reasoned every car has a trunk release. But we got the bare bones model, no power locks and no way into the trunk without the key. Thankfully a kind gentleman helped lift the seat and my younger, daughter, Lydia, managed to get her skinny arm in and feel around and grab the keys. Phew, crisis averted. I wanted to cry and turn around and go home; the girls thought it was hysterical and laughed so hard we had to wait until they calmed down to continue our journey south. The bonding part was going well.

The next major phew moment happened at 80 miles per hour on a busy highway. Emily hit some debris in the road and the tire blew out. She managed to get the car safely off the road. We were the 2nd car to have a blowout. The first car was 100 feet up the road. Thankfully, Emily and Lydia insisted we stay in the car until the police arrived to clear the debris from the road. Sure enough, a few minutes later, another car hit the same spot and barely missed crashing into us. That was a big phew moment. I took the time to thank God for talented and smart daughters, as well as the guardian angel He assigned us.

The spare tire in place, we thought we could go to a nearby store, get the tire fixed, and be on our way. Unfortunately the tire wasn't just flat, the rim was bent. We would need an entire wheel. However, it was early Sunday morning and nothing was opened. After trying several places we decided we might as well continue on. Most people told us not to drive more than 50 miles on the spare tire, but it turned out the bargain car had rims that are very difficult to get a hold of. The tire had to be special ordered, we could stay put and miss our entire vacation or slowly move on towards Florida.

Believe it or not we traveled the remaining 500 miles on the spare and have been making the best of our time together. We are strong women and we can handle life. My girls have taught me that this week.

I’ve since realized that every single day is full of phew moments. We never know when something terrible can happen, so we need to live our lives the best way we know how and remember to thank God for our Guardian Angel.

Tomorrow, Emily is going skydiving and I’m letting her. Actually she's 25 so I'm not really letting her, but I like to pretend that I am. A week ago I might have let my fear paralyze me, but I’ve learned quite a bit on this vacation. I have amazing daughters, but mostly I realized I need to let go and let God. So I’m going to, but you can bet I’ll be praying for her Guardian Angel to be with her when she jumps out of the plane tomorrow. Did I really just say that? Boy, I have learned a lot this week.
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Judy Wood
02/18/10
We learn a lot about our families on trips together.As you said we all have those Phew moments and can thank God for His care. Enjoyed your story.
Mildred Sheldon
02/20/10
What a precious story. I loved the mother's anxiety about her appearance. I'm thankful God loves us for who we are and not what we look like. We are silly creatures and I am sure God has to chuckle at our silliness. Keep writing.
harvestgal Ndaguba
02/21/10
Thanks for this reminder. Our phew moments do remind us to trust God as He always shows up right when we need Him. Keep writing.
Lollie Hofer 
02/23/10
I enjoyed the road trip and the lessons you learned along the way.
Joan Campbell
02/24/10
I REALLY enjoyed this insight into your week and the growth you identified so beautifully in yourself. Lovely humour and strong writing! Hope you do very well with this.
Amanda Brogan
02/25/10
Wow, you really went through all that? I was anxious right along with you and your girls at the tire blowout part. Definitely a "phew!" moment. Glad you finally got to your destination.

The last paragraph or so sums up the story nicely. Praise God for the little lessons He sends our why! After all, "the trying of our faith works patience." ;)
Amanda Brogan
02/25/10
Oops! Meant to say "our way." *Blush, blush*
Beth LaBuff 
02/25/10
Oh wow, what a time you had! I enjoyed your story of bonding and travel (and lessons learned). :) Memories to last forever with that trip! (the memories get funnier as time passes). :)
Chely Roach
02/25/10
What an eventful, entertaining story. I think I grew a few more grey hairs just reading it! Good job:)
Sarah Elisabeth
02/25/10
Good job conveying the lessons learned on this stress-filled trip.

You might want to consider shortening the opening sentence for greater impact.

I love reading stories about real life experiences and you put this together nicely!
Carol Penhorwood 
02/26/10
Don't you just love bonding with daughters? And the memories grow sweeter as time passes! Great story!
AnneRene' Capp
02/27/10
I can so relate to what you went through (the vacation AND the emotions). You are definitely gifted at writing. This story flowed so smoothly and had an ending that stayed with the story. :)