It was July, 2011, and time for my annual visit with Andrew. This time I was going to go On Monday July 25th and come home again on Monday, August 1st. Rob had been staying with me pretty much full time, as the commute from St. Catharines was just too costly, so we had talked about it. He made arrangements with is friend Joe. Joe would rent a car over the weekend and they would take me to Dunnville, and then he’d rent again the following weekend to come and take me home again. Great! That should foil Murphy! I thought.

All went well for the trip there, and we arrived on time, with no problem. Rob and Joe stopped long enough to say hi to Andrew, then they went off to find a MacDonald’s for a drink and a break before driving back to Toronto. I got unpacked, and Andrew and I talked and talked. We had dinner together then went back to his room where I sat and watched him play games. And we talked some more.

Since my birthday was on the 5th of August, I had taken a gift I had received in the mail, so he could participate in the day by seeing me open it. Much to my surprise, almost before I had settled down after Rob and Joe left, he was picking up a gift bag with his toes, and giving it to me. He had been able to buy me a gift, too. He is so happy now that he controls his own finances, and was very proud that he was able, at last, to give me a gift. I opened it and found three very lovely wall plaques. I still have to find a place to hang them.

He needed to go to the bank again, so we took the wheelchair and headed out. Only this time, I only had to give him a boost going up those little hills. He walked the chair all the way, while I walked beside him, and, of course, we talked. When we were finished with the bank, I was hot and tired, so we went to a little restaurant a few doors away and had iced tea, and a rest. Then we headed back, no worse for wear.

We spent a lot of time in his room, while he played games and I watched, fascinated by the action, and the realistic graphics. It was a good visit, with only one problem. It was cold! The first night I had to get up and search around. I found a couple of extra blankets, but it still wasn’t enough, so the next day I told one of the girls, and she gave me a quilt. After that, I slept well, all snuggly and warm. But during the day it was a different matter.
Andrew goes to Men’s Prayer Breakfast at his church on Wednesday mornings, so I was on my own until lunch time. The weather was very warm and sunny, so I went outside to sit in the shade and get warm. I found Sid, one of the residents that I had come to know already out there so we sat and chatted. I told him how cold I’d been, and he was quite concerned. “If you would like, when we go in, I’ll lend you a sweater. You can give it to me, or leave it in my room when you go.” He said. I told him I would really appreciate it, and he loaned me a hooded jacket. With that, I was warm and comfortable for the rest of my stay. After I came home, I bought a silly thank you card and sent it to him, to let him know how much I appreciated his kindness.

The rest of the visit went well, we went to church on the Sunday, as we always do, and otherwise spent the time in his room, chatting and laughing. On the Friday, Andrew wanted to go out for dinner – as a sort of birthday celebration. So we found out about Squires restaurant, about a block and a half away, and went there. It was a nice outing, easy to get to, and very good food. They had a working nickelodeon that plays CDs, and it fascinated Andrew. He’s seen them in the virtual world, but never in real life. It was a pleasant break from the dining room at Edgewater, though the food there is good.

When Andrew checked his email after we got back, there was a message from Rob. Joe was not able to rent a car, because August 1st was a holiday, and only the most expensive rentals were left. He gave me two choices. Stay over another night, and Joe would rent a car and pick me up, without Rob, who would be working. Or, if John and Marilyn could come to the rescue again, have them drive me to the Burlington, Go station. Rob would come by Go bus from St. Catharines, and we could go on together from there.

John and Marilyn were willing, as Marilyn’s sister was in hospital in Burlington, so she could visit her while John took me on to the station. They decided to take Andrew along, so he would have that much more time with me, and see me off. But Murphy wasn’t finished. Rob was to arrive on the 4:45 bus. It arrived, five minutes late and packed. Everyone got off, and there was no Rob! We wondered what was going to happen, and John said maybe there would be another bus for those passengers who hadn’t been able to come on that one. However, they had to leave, as Marilyn was waiting for them. So we said goodbye, and they went off, and I continued to wait, and stew. I had bought my ticket, so if I had to, I could take the 6:10 train and get home on my own. It would be a bit of a chore, getting the suitcase on and off, but if I had to, I could do it. And I have noticed that there are a lot of nice people around who are willing to help an older woman.

I sat and chatted a bit with another woman who was waiting for the train. Then a bus came in with ‘out of service’ on the front. But as it pulled in, I saw Rob through a window. He was here at last, and we still had time for the train. He came rushing in and said ‘that bus is going to Toronto, we can take it. Come on.’ He grabbed the suitcase, we went out, and soon we were on our way. There was no more trouble after that. We were more than half way home by the time the train was leaving Burlington, and it was a smooth, comfortable ride.

Once we were in Union Station, I suggested getting something to eat there, so we wouldn’t have to bother when we got home. We did that, and I decided to take a cab home, as I was getting pretty tired. So, although Murphy managed to mess things up a bit, all in all the trip was a success. And I had a great birthday.

On the Sunday after my birthday, Beth and Dave took me to an Irish pub for Brunch. When I saw the name of the pub, I laughed till my sides ached and my eyes teared. It was Murphy’s Law! It’s a very nice, place with good service and good food. A great way to end another happy visit.

My holiday with Andrew was scheduled from Sept. 25 to Oct. 2 2010, and this time, we thought we had Murphy foiled. First, since my niece Beth is a secret shopper, she offered to get a job in the Dunnville area, and drive me there. Then, when I was talking to my nephew Mike, he said they could easily bring me home again at the end of the visit.

But Beth wasn’t able to get a job for the Saturday in September, but did get one for the following Saturday, October 2nd. So the plans were changed, and Mike agreed to take me to Dunnville, and Beth would look after the return trip. Since she was doing a secret shopping job on services at a hotel, she took her daughter Mandy, and four year old grandson Robby with her. They apparently had a great time, and went to African Lion Safari before coming to Dunnville

My visit went well, Andrew had been granted control of his own money, and had opened a bank account. I gave him fifty dollars, and he wanted to deposit it, so we went downtown to the TD bank. He can walk, but not far, as it tires him out very quickly. So we took a manual wheelchair, and I pushed him. The sidewalks in Dunnville seem to have many little hills in them, so it was push hard up, hold back some going down, all the way; and then the same going back to Edgewater. By the time we got back, I was exhausted, and had a very sore area in my lower back, on the right side. I think I had pulled a muscle, as it took a week or more to heal.

As I had understood the arrangements, when Beth and co came to get me, they would pick up something Mandy could eat, and then come on and join us for dinner. But time went by, and we waited, until at last they arrived, at 7 p.m. We had finally ordered dinner and were just finished, so we went off to show them Andrew’s room. Then we headed out, picking up my luggage on the way, and were away by eight or so. Rob had my keys, so we had to go to his place in St. Catharines before heading to Toronto. And that’s when Murphy had a field day.

St. Catharines is not an easy city to find your way around in, so we went around in circles for a while. And to make matters worse, though I had a little phone/address book in my purse, I didn’t have Rob’s address or phone number. Mandy was driving, and we stopped at various places trying to get directions to Vine Street. I knew at least that much of the address. But no one seemed to even know there was a Vine Street, and the one person who did, couldn’t give us directions. Robby was getting tired and stared crying, and saying “Mommy, I need a hug.” Mandy kept trying to soothe him, and after a while, he settled down and fell asleep. Then Beth got the bright idea – why not call the operator and get the phone number from her? Great idea – the operator not only got the number, she connected Beth to Rob, he gave the directions, and we were soon there.

We stopped there for a while, long enough for everyone to stretch their legs and have a drink, and for Robby to give an animated account of his visit to the safari, which was very funny and entertained everyone. About an hour later, we were on our way again, and by about ten thirty, I was home. I do hope we can do a better job of foiling Murphy next year. I am getting extremely tired of his interference!

On October 2^nd, 2009, I set out on my annual visit to Andrew. This time, everyone was sure we had out-foxed Murphy, as they had arranged to pick me up in Niagara Falls and return me there on October 9^th, ignoring the bus from there to Dunnville entirely. All went well, though it was raining when I left home, and rained for the whole trip to Niagara Falls. The bus was only about half full, at most, so I had a whole double seat to myself. I settled in and relaxed, watching the scenery go by, partly obscured by the rain on the window.

 

It was actually a restful ride, and when we arrived at Niagara Falls I was not stiff and aching – I had thought I would be, what with the chilly wet weather. It was only a few minutes before Andrew’s friends, my rescuers from last year, arrived. John came in and took over the suitcase, and said “We have a surprise for you in the van.” And what a pleasant surprise it was, too – they had brought Andrew with them. Instead of taking the most direct way to Dunnville, we took a more scenic route, and were able to enjoy the changing colours of fall in spite of the rain, as we chatted, laughed and teased Andrew.

 

By the time we were in Dunnville, it was long past supper time at Edgewater, so Marilyn decided we should go to their place, and she would make spaghetti and sauce for supper for us. It was very pleasant, and we had a great time. Andrew finally suggested that we head off to Edgewater, as it was half past eight, and I still had to get settled in. He had taken the precaution of collecting the room key and some of the meal tickets for me, so Murphy was foiled again; for the time being, anyway. So shortly we were saying goodnight to them, my bags were stored in my room, and Andrew and I were in his room, logging in to Second Life to spend time with our friends there.

 

 

When I went back to my room that night I started to unpack – and found that Murphy had made a sneak attack. I knew I had prepared a bottle of mouthwash, and had a new tube of toothpaste ready to pack. But on unpacking, I found that they were nowhere to be seen. Since we had both decided to sleep late and forego breakfast, all I could do was hope that my breath wasn’t too bad when I went for lunch on Saturday. I wondered what I would do for the rest of the week, and hoped the gift shop could accommodate me. Then someone’s guardian angel stepped in, and Marilyn turned up at my door, to find out the last name of my nephew, whom they hoped would be able to take me back to Niagara Falls on the following Friday. She was going shopping, and was quite willing to pick up what I needed, so that problem was solved, quickly and with no fuss. That trick failed, Murphy!

 

It was a lovely visit, though it seemed that I had brought the chilly, rainy, weather with me. A few days started out sunny, or had the sun breakthrough for a while, but mostly it was dreary, wet, fall weather. We didn’t go outside at all, but took our exercise by walking the long way back to his room after our meals. I saw again the folks I had made friends with the year before and made new friends, and they all seemed happy to see me. But for the most part, Andrew and I were in his room, on the computer. Some of the time I crocheted or read while he worked away, helping people set up things, or working on his own projects. It was nice just to sit and be together.

 

Now, as I said, I had been told not to buy tickets for the Dunnville bus, either way, as John and Marilyn were making arrangements to cover that part of the trip. However, the plan to get my nephew to take me back didn’t work out, probably because they couldn’t get away from the farm. John and Marilyn were already booked to be in Hamilton for medical treatments (they are both over 70). In the end, they decided that they could do it themselves. They arrived back in Dunnville from Hamilton around one, had lunch, but were so tired that they both took a short nap. Only they overslept, and it was after three before they woke up. Murphy’s fine hand at work again, of course.

 

My bus was due to leave Niagara Falls at five thirty. At the best of times, with perfect traffic conditions, it is about an hour and a half drive, so they had planned to pick me up at three. This would have given plenty of time for me to go to the rest room, and buy something at the snack bar if I wanted to. As it turned out, it was after three thirty before John came in, and we were up and out very quickly, as I had already said goodbye to Andrew. All went well, traffic was light (though it was still raining), and we were making good time – until we reached the old Welland Canal. There, the bridge was up, and when we got almost to the bridge entrance, there were signs saying it was being repaired and the road was closed.  There was no indication of a detour until then, much to John’s disgust.

 

 

Marilyn got the maps out, and started trying to find the best way to go. The light was poor, and she had a hard time seeing the highway numbers and street names, but gave John directions. Well, Murphy swept in with glee, and managed to get us going in the wrong direction, and every time she corrected, it took us farther from the Falls. We went around and around, always almost getting it right, only to find that there was a problem and we had to turn back, or work our way around to find another route.

 

In the end, it was five o’clock as we hit the outskirts of the Falls, and we were all on edge. Marilyn was getting quite upset, worried that I would miss the bus and they would have to drive all the way to Toronto, much too far when they were already tired. I said if I got to the terminal, I could change my ticket to a later bus, and still get home, and John was just driving and trying to calm Marilyn. My warped sense of humour kicked in, and I was having trouble keeping from bursting out laughing and announcing that ‘Murphy Strikes Again’.

 

In the end, we arrived at the terminal with about two minutes to spare. John and I jumped out, I grabbed my carry-on bags and he got the suitcase. I didn’t wait for him, I just went rushing into and across the terminal and out to where a bus was loading – not a Greyhound bus, though. The driver had already closed the luggage compartment when I stopped in front of him and asked “are you taking Greyhound passengers to Toronto?”. He said he was, I gave him my ticket, John arrived with my suitcase, I kissed and hugged him thanks and goodbye, and I made it – with about half a minute to spare. And no chance at the rest room.

 

Fortunately, they do have them on buses – but it is not exactly easy to try to keep your balance while making ready to use it. Or afterwards! Still, I made it, though I nearly landed in a young man’s lap as I made my way back to my seat. So in the end, Murphy was foiled – just barely – and I made it back to Toronto and home. And the promise I made to the people in Dunnville that I would bring the rain back with me? Well, that worked out, too. All of us had sun today. But it was cold!

 

Oh, and the missing mouthwash and toothpaste? I found those, too – the Tuesday after I got home. I was getting ready to go to my therapy when I glanced down at the wastepaper basket beside the bathroom sink, and there was the bottle of mouthwash. I muttered a few unkind words about Murphy and picked it up, brushed it off, and stood for a moment looking at it. Well, it was unharmed, still sealed, so why not? I opened it and the original bottle, poured the liquid back in, and closed the lid. Then I rinsed the small bottle and put it away – never know when it will come in handy. But what about the toothpaste? Hmmm…maybe…I looked in the wastebasket again, and sure enough, there it was. Well, Murphy, you may have caused me to buy extra in Dunnville, but I thumb my nose at you. Now I won’t have to buy mouthwash or toothpaste next month. So there!