The Girl Guide Motto

Mom, thank you for putting us into Girl Guides when we were kids! The motto - BE PREPARED - is something that has totally come to mind no less than a million times since learning it, 30 years ago, standing in the school gym, wearing my blue Girl Guide uniform, with my sash (with a few badges on it) hanging over my shoulder.

Your wisdom, living intentionally and being prepared can be ideas closely related to one another, at times.

Tuesday was one of those times!

I went to Vancouver to get my new passport and had to wake up really early to drive to Vancouver to get to the passport office by 9:00am to 10:00am so that my passport would be ready by the end of the day.

Well, I woke up at 4:00am and made the strongest cup of coffee I could, had a quick shower and made sure I had my old passport (that just expired less than 10 days ago) along with new passport photos, my birth certificate and other ID.

It was a gorgeous morning (or night...depending on how you look at it). There was a full moon and it was so bright! I had my favourite music playing and I LOVE driving! Driving on the highway reminds me of all those trips to Sun Peaks to the other hostel. It's time to daydream. To think. To get away. To be "in touch and out of reach". LOVE THAT! Sometimes I listen to inspiring audio programs but on Tuesday, I just listened to my favourite music.

There were lots of semi trucks on the road. Going up one of the big mountain passes between Kelowna and Merrit, I was in the left lane, passing a semi b/c they go so slowly up the steep parts. At that exact moment, I saw a tire (from a blow-out of a semi in the recent past) in my lane on the road ahead of me. There was nothing I could do except go over it.

So I did.

Then I heard some noise, after the kunk-kunk of the driving over the tire...and thought that I must have had a flat tire b/c something didn't sound right.

I pulled over. Got out. Saw that a little part of my bumper was off but that my tire was fine. Coincidentally, I just got my oil changed on Monday and the oil place gave me a gift - a flashlight and tire pressure gauge - for being a regular customer! So, I got out my new little flashlight and proceeded to crouch down to see the damage. (I'm still smiling at how that little flashlight was given to me the day before!)

God does exist!

The protective guard on the underside was ripped off the car (along with a piece of my bumper)...and it was now dragging under the car...still attached with one big bolt (that I could easily see b/c I had my handy-dandy flashlight! I thought, "this could be worse!" and smiled big under the full moon light! Very cool!

I knew I had to get the bolt off so I could salvage the protective guard and prevent more damage...so I wen to my glove-box and looked for something...anything...that might help me!

I found my little "gadget" that I put there years before, thinking, "I might need this one day", following the Girl Guide motto!

With my flashlight and pliers-gadget, I got the bolt off and put the plate in the trunk...and hopped back in the car, feeling safe, secure and a lot like "McGivor" from the show that we used to watch years ago.


Feeling very fortunate, I drove to Merrit to further assess the damage. But it all looked fine so I continued on to Vancouver. Made it to the top of the Coquahala in good time and then was totally surprised to see dozens (and I mean dozens) of semi-trucks completely stopped, waiting for the sand and gravel trucks and scrapers to finish scraping the highway (the descent) from the summit. Apparently a few trucks had tried to make it down and slid off the road earlier in the morning. So, the rest were waiting for the roads to be sanded before proceeding.

I stopped, asked if the roads were good and was then in front to go down from the summit and to Vancouver. How cool was that! The roads were winter-ish but fine. Completely fine.

I wondered what would have happened if I had not hit the tire a couple hours earlier and was 30 min earlier in my arrival to the summit. I'm not sure...but I'll take it as a blessing, either way, because I could feel angels around me on the drive.

Thank you God.

So...the rest of the trip was uneventful. Being prepared made the trip much easier than if I was not prepared. And the coincidence of receiving the flashlight the day before was not really a coincidence, at all, I don't think.

I did have to use my (your) persuasive skills to get my passport back by the end of the day...and then they went above and beyond to have it ready by 2:00pm so I could get back to Kelowna during daylight.

Very, very cool!

I love Canada! I love being Canadian. I love my friends that let me use them as character references b/c the passport agent asked for 4 people to make sure that they could get a hold of at least two that day. I love the feeling of freedom and joy that I feel when driving out on the highway, singing, with the music cranked. And I love my Mom...for many reasons...and also 'just because'.

Mom, thx for putting us in Girl Guides and for instilling a level head in your kids along with an independent streak that, while might have seemed unmanageable as teen-agers, is actually a great gift, that helps all of us get through anything from tribulations of life to being stranded on the highway heading towards Vancouver.
Love you,
Crystal
PS I gotta make sure to buy a box or two of those girl-guide cookies...when they come around.