misread

there has been a lot going on in our lives this week
Friday/Saturday included driving through six states
to get to where we needed and wanted to be

Friday when I drove to KCU I noticed my gas gauge showed empty, 
for real, I am not playing, on the line empty
I made a mental note to take care of it when I returned Saturday night

Sarah and Beth drove her van to Knoxville to pick me up after Friday's game
Kyle's grandparents in SC graciously hosted us, the Davies, Andrew & Bre
we got up Saturday morning and drove on to Rashad's funeral 

the church was packed, standing room only
after the service one of my granddaughters was confused and asked,
"was that a funeral or a worship service?"

after the funeral/worship we drove to QT to share a meal together
before we had to go our separate ways
we asked Justin, a QT employee, to take our picture

Saying final goodbyes to our brother, Rashad Earls - all of our smiles combined wouldn't equal his smile ❤️

as we entered Virginia on our way home
I was taken off guard by a question that was asked,
a serious question

she* was confused
"what does that mean?
how does a radar detect illegal vehicles?"

I was confused
"what do you mean?"
"that sign, how can radar detect illegal vehicles?"

"or are they talking about immigrants?"
"what?"
"you know, illegal immigrants"

I processed what I had just read on the sign

we laughed hysterically once we sorted out what it said 

vs. what she had read

"radar detects illegals"

as we neared Grayson tonight we were tired 
I was driving the van so I had Sarah gather my wallet and keys 
I stopped at the field house where my car was parked

I got into my car, started it and put on my seatbelt
placed my sunglasses in their case and my wallet on the seat
as I drove out of the parking lot I looked at the gas gauge-FULL

I was confused

I looked at it again, 

it was still full

my mind began to race: how did someone get my extra set of keys? 
and who knows where I keep my extra keys?
and why would they fill the tank?

then it hit me and I shook my head at myself-
Beth filled up my car after she drove to Maysville Thursday night
how had I misread the gas gauge Friday morning?

my heart can rejoice that one of the girls viewed the funeral as a celebration
we can laugh out loud about the radar sign
I can be thankful for the full vs. empty gas tank

these things have caused me to do some reflecting though-

how often are things not what we think and possibly insist they are
how many times have I made misjudgements or wrong assumptions
because I was in a hurry
or didn't have all of the information
or didn't take the time to see what was clearly in front of me...

as I close out my day 
I am hoping, no, I am praying I put into practice today's lessons 
to slow down, pay attention and belly laugh when I can

*"her" wishes to remain anonymous