A night to remember

So, after saying goodbye to Germany we loaded up the car (praise God for Honda Pilots) and headed home to Belgium.  We had a packed car: Lindsey driving, 2 kids (3 years old and 9 months old), my 82 year old Granny, mom, dad, and myself.  And all our luggage.  We were crowed, but no big deal- right?  

Then we started noticing how the snow was getting deeper the closer we got to Belgium.  It was definitely slippery, but manageable.  

And then it wasn’t.

See, here’s the thing.  Rob and Lindsey have this beautiful home in the country.  The only problem with it?  It’s out in the country.  As in, not a house in sight, cows in the backyard, country roads, and only a farmer for a distant neighbor- that kind of “in the country."  This is all very endearing in the spring, summer, and fall.  The winter?  In the snow?  not so much.  

So we go to turn down the side roads to get to the house and we very quickly realize that getting home might be a problem.  You see, large fields create very large drifts on roads.  We had to turn around multiple times and kept trying different roads to get to the house.  

At one point, we were driving and realized that we weren’t actually driving on the road anymore.  We were on a field, the road nowhere in sight.  Whoops.

Finally we find a road that seems passable.  We risk it because, well, we don’t really have any other choice.  Linds was a rockstar- she just plowed through the snow.  We did pretty good actually.  Until we got stuck.  With the drifts to our thighs in some spots.  

So with granny, kids, and family we hauled ourselves out of the car and started walking the kilometer and some to the house.  

Amazingly enough- Jake was the only one screaming.  Allie pranced the whole way home, chanting “This is SO MUCH FUN!!" Everyone else would have been laughing if they weren’t too busy trying to shield themselves from the wind and freezing rain.  

But we all made it.  

Dad and I made the trip two more times in order to haul all the luggage to the house. (you know, in case the gypsies are out looking for cars full of luggage in the middle of a blizzard.  It could happen.)

A couple hours later Lindsey and I are snuggling down into the warm, comfy, cozy bed when the cell phone rings.  

At first we were just surprised, because we’re in Europe and that means that the cell phone rarely ever rings to begin with.  

Then we realized that it was 1:30 in the morning, and we were even more surprised.

Lindsey picks up.

"Uh, hello?"

"Hi, Is this Lindsey Beckenhauer?"

"Uh, yes it is." 

"Yea, I’m just down the road and I found the note you left on your car with your number. I need you to come down and move your car so I can get by."

"Uh, yeaaahhhhh, if you didn’t notice my car is stuck." 

He then goes on to convince us that the snow has all melted.  Alrighty then buddy.

So Linds and I pull ourselves out of bed, wrap ourselves back up, and, like the Yetis we are quickly becoming, trudge off down the road again.  At this point the freezing rain is really coming down hard.  And then the phone rings again.

"Uh, hello?

"Hey Lindsey. Well, I got tired of waiting so I just drove around your car and through the cornfields." (at which point I’m thinking- really?  I mean….REALLY.) "Anyway, I was going to try to go pick you up but the road to your house is really bad.  You’re definietly not going to be able to drive it home tonight." (Thanks, Sherlock.  With the drifts up to my thigh I couldn’t figure that out on my own)

And off he goes.  The only English speaker in a 5 mile radius just happens to be driving down our road in the middle of nowhere during a huge snowstorm at 1:30AM.

And then he disappears into the night leaving only tire tracks to confirm that it wasn’t just a really bad prank call.

Sometimes real life is way more unbelievable than the movies.

The conclusion of the story?  We re-parked onto a cornfield, removed the sticky note with our contact details, and trudged back home again.

My snuggly PJs never felt so good.