Together

Journal for Christa—

The charge on Discover was completesavings.com: $12.00. I asked Jay what it was. He couldn’t remember. (I rarely order online.) “April 2^nd. Right after spring break. Was it something you ordered for the ponds?” There was a phone number, and since he was next to the phone, I said, “Call this number.”

It turned out to be a “subscription” we weren’t aware we’d subscribed to. Jay canceled it and requested our $12.00 back. The voice on the other end was friendly and compliant to return our $12.00, as he should have been, since skimming through previous online statements, I discovered we’d faithfully paid completesavings.com $12.00 for the last 15 months!

I started to think about how much money that was and what a waste. The more sobering thought was that if Jay hadn’t been sitting next to the phone, we could have paid them for the next 15 months—or longer.

So, I decided to consider the times things should have cost me and they didn’t—like when I was speeding through Oklahoma, and the nice policeman gave me a warning instead of a ticket.

Sometimes things in life just happen. This week because of a volcano—that someone in Iceland should have given far more worldwide consideration to before naming it—Joel, Kim, and the kids have been stranded in Madrid, Spain—for starters. Their plan was to train it to Barcelona yesterday afternoon. Since their Facebook page has been silent these last 24 plus hours, I only hope that they are closer to home and not much worse for wear. I’m just glad mostly that they are together.

And when things in life happen, perhaps that is the most important—to be together. People can withstand a lot of trouble by being together. Sometimes the pressure can get intense and cause us to fuss at each other, but really we ought to be glad we aren’t alone.

I’m hoping when I check Facebook tonight, Joel or Kim has posted, “We’re home!” And, when Jay and I traced back our “subscription” to the online purchase made, it was something we’d ordered together. Even that was kind of nice.

P.S. (Joel and Kim are home, and life is good.)