Road trip, 8

We did make it to the Blue Mountains, to my younger brother’s cabin, where we spent a few nights.

My brother inherited the family cabin from our parents and had retained most of the knick-knacks and cutlery and furniture, which brought up a lot of good memories from when we were kids.

Meanwhile, our older daughter flew from Tennessee to Boise, Idaho, met up with her friend since kindergarten, Nik, and they drove to the cabin.

Over the years, these girls came with us to the cabin, built forts outside our orchard, rode horses, and had sleepovers. She’s part of the family. But a few years back, Nik had a work-accident as a horse jockey and now uses a wheelchair for mobility. This cabin trip was the first trip she’d taken without her husband, who is a wonderful man and very able to help lift and get Nik around when she’s not in her wheelchair.

However, as good friends do, Nik and our daughter push boundaries with wisdom.

Before the visit, at the gym in Tennessee, our daughter practiced hauling heavy weight, with the idea it was Nik, holding on with her arms around her neck. And Nik increased her arm strength.

They arrived at the cabin, and we talked and laughed, all the while feeling genuinely grateful deep inside. That night, Doug and I returned to Washington and the two friends went on a “walk” from the cabin to the meadow, both women, capably and safely, maneuvering the wheelchair. They also “climbed” the cabin stairs together.

On the morning that the girls were to travel back to Boise, they expected Doug and me to come to the cabin, chit-chat some more, and say goodbye.

I woke about four a.m. We arrived at the cabin just after six a.m.

Some people could think 6 a.m. was early, but during the more than thirty years we’ve known one another, it was normal for me to walk into the small cabin kitchen and see Nik pivot her wheelchair deftly and crack, “It’s about time you got here. We’ve been waiting since four.”

Watching sun rises was one of the longstanding commonalities between us.

“Isn’t it amazing that a loyal friend is always beautiful!”—21^st Century Science and Health

“The pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.”—Proverbs 27:9