I spent the first hour of my solo road trip on the phone, making arrangements on the fly.
Lou managed to get the rental car manager to mercifully give us one more day — which felt like the best news I’d ever gotten — and, he also asked this amazing couple in our wrinkle cream downline for a little help, too. They lived in Knoxville, Tennessee.
So if I could just make it to Knoxville that night, I’d have a safe and welcoming place to stay, and, I could attend their wrinkle cream event the next evening to support our team. Then, if I left Knoxville at a reasonable time the next morning, I could get the SUV turned in on time, and without incident.
It really seemed like a win-win, for sure!
But just in case, my friend Leslie — the one who worked for the Ritz Carlton — set up a reservation for me to stay in a Marriott using her employee discount. She found a property that was right off of I-75, and about two-thirds of the way between Waconia and Knoxville. If I couldn’t make it all the way to Knoxville that night, all I had to do was let her know, and she would open that reservation in a heartbeat. Just knowing that I had such an option was awesome, but experiencing how much my friend loved me buoyed my spirits more than I could ever express.
Of course, I also called my sister.
I spoke to her often, so she knew the main events of the past few days. But things with me always seemed to change — sometimes in an instant — and I know my sister likely
Everything about The Imposition Tour has always been “subject to change.” There never was (or is) a plan that anyone — including me — can count on. So people who have journeyed with me (especially back then) knew not to press me with too many questions that required actual answers. If I called you back then, you had to buckle up, and fully prepare yourself to ride a few tricky and indecisive curves with me.
Over the years, my sister has gotten so adept at helping me make the necessary emotional pivots I need to survive that she’s always my first call when anything good or bad happens in my life. (I love that girl. So much.) But letting my sister help me out in little ways also seemed to help her cope better with my crazy life. The thing is, even now, it’s often difficult for me to think of ways for her to help. All of my “asks” always seem too big! But every now and then, I can think of something that my sister can do that changes my life in a big way.
At that time, she came through for me when she offered to send Dave and Judy a thank you note with a Target gift card inside — just in case Lou ruined their linens. (It might seem odd that I’m always so obsessed with other people’s towels and sheets, but by now, you must be starting to see that’s just who I am!) But there was something so empowering about my sister’s gesture. Knowing that Dave and Judy’s nice things could easily be replaced gave me the ability to keep driving further and further away from Lou without falling to pieces.
But when I told my sister about my ambitious plans to drive 900+ miles (and 15 hours) to get to Knoxville in one big push, she really wasn’t able to let that one ride. Nothing about my plan was going to work for her, and, for the first time, she threw down the “Mom Card.”
She said, “Sonja, Mom would be so upset if she knew you were attempting to drive that far on your own in your condition.”
My sister hardly ever used the “Mom Card” with me after my mother passed away, but this time, I know she felt she had to. And looking back on things, I know she was right. I was putting too much pressure on myself, and my mom often had to pull me aside and teach me how to ease up even when I was just a kid. So like a secondary mother, my sister got on the phone with my friend Leslie, and she made sure that the Marriott room would be paid for and waiting for me when I rolled into town.
In the end, I would’ve never made it Knoxville that night. I was emotionally wasted, and completely running on adrenaline. My body was wire tight and filmy… And, I remember that my eyes were heavy and hot that whole trip. To pass the time, I listened to Blue Collar Radio on XM Radio in the rental car. It felt so good to laugh and think about mindless things for a little while. I remember laughing out loud when Larry the Cable Guy suggested a new line of edible underwear that featured a “biscuits and gravy” flavored option.
