At Grandma's House

August 28, 2004, might just go down in history as the day of the unplanned adventure—courtesy of Grandma’s well-meaning but slightly overreaching hospitality. She had promised a friend we’d escort her to Billings, setting the stage for a day filled with unexpected turns and, let’s say, memorable moments.

There’s an unwritten rule in the book of life: one should volunteer for duties, not be volunteered. But there I was, learning a vital lesson in patience and the art of being volunteered by Grandma. It made me think, half-jokingly, that living with Grandma might be the perfect prep for married life, with its myriad of shared decisions and surprises.

The journey to Billings was an event in itself. Our new acquaintance began to cough so fiercely that Aunt Paula and I exchanged worried glances, half-expecting a medical emergency right there in the car. The word “arrgh” barely covers the mix of concern and disbelief that filled the vehicle.

Arriving at the Sheridan in Billings, our expectations hit a new low. The promise of adjoining rooms vanished into thin air, much like our hopes for a smooth stay. The room we were eventually given seemed to have been hastily abandoned by its previous occupant—unmade bed, lingering cigarette smoke, and all. The bathroom was a saga of its own: no ventilation, questionable cleanliness, and then, as fate would have it, the loss of power to our wall outlets. The irony of trying to iron my shirt in the bathroom, only to drop it into the toilet, was not lost on me. If anything, it added a comedic twist to the series of unfortunate events.

Despite the chaos, there’s a strange charm to these unplanned adventures. They’re the stories that stick, the ones that get passed down through generations. Yes, even the part about the toilet-bound shirt finds its place in the narrative. Because in the end, it’s these shared experiences, these unexpected detours, that weave the fabric of our family stories.

So, from a dive in Billings to a lesson in the unpredictable nature of life, this day at Grandma’s house turned into an adventure I never asked for but somehow needed. It’s a reminder that life, much like family, is full of surprises. And sometimes, just sometimes, the journey is all the richer for it.