Jubilee, July Edition

A little before 8:00 AM on July 1, George, Jacob, Luke, Brandon (nephew), and I piled into the van and headed north. We caravaned with my sister, Sharon, and her husband who had their mini-van all to their lonesome. Around mid-morning, George said, “So, I need to be thinking about something for your July Jubilee.” (If you missed it earlier, I turn 50 this year, and I’m milking it for all it’s worth.) I just smiled, but didn’t think much of it.

We drove all day, making only a few brief pit stops. Around 9:00 PM we hit Denver, and George exited onto a highway we don’t normally take. Sharon called on the walkie talkie to ask what was up, and he replied that he was trying a new route. Turned out we were on a toll road. When we pulled into the first booth, he paid $3.50 ($1.75 each) for our car and my sister’s. Then we came to another toll booth. This time he paid $4.00 for both cars. Sharon paged us again, and he pretty much ignored her request for an explanation. A third tollbooth, $4.00 more dollars.

I’d been reading the whole time and not paying much attention, but this was becoming a costly experiment. “Are you sure you know where you’re going?”

When he drove right past an exit to I-70, I got a little irritated. It wasn’t so much the whole trying-a-new-route thing; it was his refusal to explain himself. Then, not too much further down the road he exited. To the airport.

George and Grace had arranged for her to come to Colorado for eight whole days! When I saw her adorable self walk out of the terminal, I jumped out of the car and gave her a huge hug.

“Happy Birthday, Mom!” she said. My birthday isn’t until September, of course. But this is my July Jubilee present. Isn’t it nice my whole family has bought into this gig?

Then, as if that weren’t enough jubilee joy for one month, the very next day (on my father’s 77th birthday), Jacob’s best friend, Natalie, who loved him before, during, and after his drowning accident, gave birth to her first child, a baby boy. She named him Lawson Jacob.

My heart is bursting.

Happy 4th, everyone. I’ll be back later with pictures!