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“Welcome to the World of RVing” my sister says as I tell her today’s news.

She has traveled extensively in motorhomes.  She knows what it means to break down in Small Town, America.

“The wrong part was delivered this morning.  They ordered the right part directly from the manufacture.  It will come tomorrow morning.  They will get it installed as soon as they receive it.  Maybe noon, one o’clock tomorrow we‘ll be back on the road.”

Tomorrow.

Another night in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Remember way back in the early part of this story, I told you my story was called “Tomorrow” because I vow to always have a tomorrow.  I look to tomorrow for strength for today.   But I have to tell ya, I am sick of Las Cruces’ version of tomorrow.  I don’t trust this tomorrow business at the moment.

When Dan called me with the news, I was trying to ignore the bickering of the two girls trying to share the laptop.  I had finally told them that they couldn’t have the computer and the TV and changed the channel from Scooby Do to Judge Judy. (Not a whole lot of difference there . . .)   I had lowered the volume in the room a tad by sticking Rob in the shower.  (The shower is his all time favorite place. He would spend hours in the shower if he could.)

Another night in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

I looked around the hotel room.  As rooms goes, this one was . . . not so good.  It registered in my mind that the room was crowded and our things were spread all over. Last night, we had to rearrange the furniture in order to open up Rob’s roll-a-way bed.  And still, one end had to rest on the double bed that the girls begrudgingly shared.  And Dan takes his half out of the middle.  That didn’t leave much left on my side of our double bed.  I slept lousy.

Another night in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

At least Anita was able to reschedule the appointment at Moffitt for Monday, November 12.  If we get back on the road by tomorrow afternoon, we can make it.  We have to make it.  We’ll make it as long as Clyde doesn’t decide to  . . . NO!  Even though the motorhome is across the Walmart parking lot and snuggled into his bay, sucking up their electricity . . . It still might hear me.  No, we will make it.  No more problems.

Please.

Another night in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

When Dan came in, I was still staring at the room.  He is very good at reading my moods these days.

“I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going now?”
“To the front desk.”

He came back a short time later to ask me to come see another room.  Ok.

“I told them what was going on.”

When I walked in to the other place, I saw a standard king room: one king size bed, a desk and a chair with an ottoman and a TV.  Then I turned to see the OTHER room.  A living room with a couch and chair, a desk and a SECOND TV!

“Yes, this will be much better.”

After hearing our tale, the manager gave us a suite for just a little bit more than we paid for the little double.  And we have been hanging out here since about 10:00 this morning.  The kids have their room and they love it.  We dragged the roll-a-way down from the other room.  That was given this time to Brandi.  Jaymi gets the pull out couch all to herself! And for Rob, we brought the ottoman in from the king room and made a Rob size bed out of the chair and two ottomans.  He was very pleased.  And no one will be poking any one else come bed time. They turned on their cartoons and I walked away back to my room and my KING SIZE BED and my soaps!

Our room has a couple extra items.  One is a small fridge.  The other a small microwave.  DINNER IN!   After All My Children, which comes on at 11:00 here btw, I walked to the Walmart by myself! I claimed a scooty cart and picked out some microwavable lunch: Cup-a-soups and frozen mini pizzas.  I bought some sugar free tea mix and a cheap pitcher.  And Lunch was planned for pennies!

The kids were thrilled.   I really have good kids.  It doesn’t take much to please them.               I miss the kid I left behind in Oregon all ready. She’s not a kid, I know.  But she is my baby.  I hope she knows how much I love her.

Another night in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

When it comes time for dinner, we will walk back to Walmart.  Each of us will order up our favorite TV dinner and we’ll hike back here to the old home on the range.  We will more than save in food cost what we had to pay extra for the suite. And in the morning we will have another free continental breakfast.

Joy Ride.   Joy sit.   Joy.

So, you see, within every nightmare there is a dream.  Pockets of Happiness.  We are stuck here in Las Cruces, New Mexico, but it might be a good thing.   Dan wouldn’t stop.  For weeks now, he would not relax.  He has been in overdrive.  Even when we pulled to a stop along this route we’re on, my Dear Dan would be busy with this or that, moving until he dropped.  Now, with Clyde in the pokey, Dan has nothing to do.  He has no choice but to sit still and veg.  Yes, he has been back and forth across the Walmart parking lot too many times to count.  But as I am writing this, he is laying across the king size bed watching TV.  He came back from the pool where he took over for me in watching the kids play.

“It’s all your fault, you know Dan. You wouldn’t rest.”
“Yah, Dad was too stressy.  He needed to relax some.”
“Yah, Dad, God wants you to lay on the bed.  Wait, I think I might have just heard God say something . . .”TAKE THE KIDS BACK TO THE POOL, DAN.”

Another night in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Yah, Joy.

Oh, and our room has another feature that I like: A door between the kids room and ours.

Joy.