Fate?

I really don't believe in fate. I truly believe that we are in control of our own actions. That said, I am left to wonder if there isn't some greater force out there guiding us, providing hints as to the direction we should take. It is either that or I am having a mid-life crisis and everything is being over analyzed.

Case in point.

We always drive straight through. Always. We go as far as we can without stopping. It is the way it was when I was a kid, it is how I do it now.

When I drove the boys out to Vernon, we made the 6 hr drive in 6 hr 45 min. We made two extra stops due to upset tummies and malfunctioning videos, that and the road construction. I was not impressed.

At the B&B we stayed at, the owners chatted with us a lot. He was originally from a small town only 45 min from my hubby's home town. Makes for lots of chit chat. The morning we left, he said

"When you drive home to Calgary, stop. Go for a hike. Stop for ice cream. Whatever it is, stop."

I took this as advice from some one who had lost his wife to cancer. The 'stop and smell the roses' speech from one who definitely has the life experience to give this advice.

So, this time, we did.

We stopped at the SkyTrek Adventure Park. The boys had the best time!

Strapped in, ready to go.




They start them off easy...




And before you know it, you are they are 10 feet above you, reaching for things so they don't fall.



It isn't long before they are pushing themselves...with some encouragement from below.



It was a great place to stop. I can't wait til they are old enough to go through the adult course and all 4 of us can go. The boys will need to shout a lot of encouragement to their chicken mommy...

Now, I mentioned fate.

We arrived just west of the town of Revelstoke to a dead stop on the highway. We had an idea something was up when a trucker flashed his lights at us. We were there for an hour before hitting the Big Eddy Rd that led us through the back end of town. We thought we had bypassed what must have been some horrid construction and were high fiving as we got back onto the highway...only to meet another flag person.

This time, we talked to her, after giving the poor girl a bottle of water. There had been an accident on the #1 highway. Multiple vehicles involved. Multiple deaths. The highway was closed for the next few hours.

Did I mention fate? Had we not stopped...we would have hit that section of the highway at around the same time. The profoudness of the situation did not slip by me. Seriously. We NEVER stop.

Except for this time.

Call if fate.

Call it fluke.

Call it whatever you like.

At the urging of a virtual stranger, we decided to stop. And we are all safe. The message was not lost on me.

We ended up sitting at an outdoor patio for a few hours. The boys caught grasshoppers, we had nachos. When the road reopened, it looked like this.


and more of this



But it didn't matter that it took us 12 hours to get home. We were safe. The seriousness of the situation was not lost on us.

And, I have to say, the boys took the trip better then expected. They never complained, never fought.

Maybe the secret was the chocolate...



Was it fate? Was it luck? Had we drove straight through would we have even realized? Doesn't matter. The fact is, we did stop. We did find out about the accident. And we are all safe.

And, I am leaning towards some sort of force that leads us...if we choose to follow.

More on this topic to come.