Jump Out and Run In

       Jump out and run in.  This could be our family motto.  With six children, 1 dog, 1 cat, and 1 husband, it seems we often are running late-for some reason or another.  It doesn’t help that I like arriving on the dot, not early and not late.  Unfortunately, life doesn’t follow a perfect timetable.  The doorbell rings, someone forgets their backpack, the keys are missing.  Those little last minute interruptions put us a little behind schedule.  Of course, this is not too bad unless other complications occur, such as on-the-way delays.  The light turns red, the traffic is heavier that usual, the gas tank is empty, it starts snowing.  You get the picture.  Murphy’s Law states that the later you are running, the more things will go wrong.  So true.  If we are running ahead of schedule, the lights are all green, the gas tank is full, the sun is shining, and so on.  In spite of cutting it close, I put a high premium on being on time.

However, over the years the following scenario played out over and over again…

Pulling the steering wheel to the left, the car veers into the parking lot. Moving cautiously through the parked cars, the tan-and burgundy Suburban comes to a stop in front of the entrance.  (This could be the Boy Scout House, church, school, a house where a birthday party will be hosted, or wherever.)  Turning my head toward the back seats and with a smile on my lips, I cheerfully call out, “Jump out and run in!”  Doors fly open; passengers pile out like circus clowns out of a VW bug.  A stream of children of varying heights trot up to the entryway.

        As I mentioned earlier, this happened quite often over the years: Arrive in the nick of time,  Jump out and run in,  children racing up to the door.

       Finally one day, my oldest daughter, Emily, declared,  “I just want to get out and walk in!”