Cup of coffee, anyone?

The van ride over to Beacon on Tuesday was not pretty. 

We stopped at a gas station to put air in a tire (how do any tires last more than 5 minutes here?), and lil' Branson Page, sitting behind me in Cristy Page's lap, said, "the road is really bumpy."  He proceeded to throw up into her lap.  Ahhh!!  We had nothing. Providentially, we were at a gas station, so I (Walker) ran in and bought a pack of baby wipes.  Cristy cleaned him up, then Big Branson took him to the front of the car and then resumed. Minutes later, I heard him remark again on the bumpiness of the road; after a pause, I saw Big Branson scooping some liquid out of of the window in his hand. Multiple times. Oh my.   Baby wipes again. 

I wish that were the end of it. Caroline, a few minutes later, joined her brother in commenting on the bumpiness of the road, and she proceeded to begin to prepare to throw up.  We still had nothing near to catch it.  I looked down and couldn't deny that I had just gulped down the last of my tea from my mug - the mug that has faithfully served me for over a decade now. There was no other alternative.  I unscrewed the lid and pressed it towards Caroline's face. Sure enough, warmth flowed into the mug and all over the sides.  Caroline, unlike Branson, wouldn't stop, and the stuff just kept coming. Finally, someone procured a plastic bag, but not before puke was all over the mug, my hand, Cristy's clothes, the floor, and even a little on my book bag.  Wow: we still had 10 minutes to go before we arrived, and I was scheduled to do the devotion right when we got there.  We all made frantic use of the baby wipes, with some success.  Opening the window helped more, and at last we made it.  Everyone dispersed to clean up after their own fashion. I washed my hands frantically and compulsively, also trying to keep at bay a very unsettled feeling in my own stomach. Eventually, we all pulled it together and got cleaned up enough to contribute to the day. I think it helped that Cristy and Big Branson were medical professionals and used to things like that. 

Those Page kids are amazingly resilient: within a half an hour of arriving at Beacon, they were playing just like normal and have been fine ever since.

Good and faithful mug: taking one for the team