My Dancing Queen.....

What a fun musical! Sara and I celebrated an evening together by going to the Music Hall at Fair Park to see MAMMA MIA. It was a great night...starting with the fact that I managed to find my way to the music hall in the first place! You see my comfort zone in an automobile is not much outside the boundaries of Garland, Texas. Oh, once again I am so my mother! She would not drive anywhere either.

We not only arrived safely but a young lady I had know for years just happened to be working at the valet parking garage. She so kindly took my keys, parked our car at the front door of the music hall and gave me the keys back so I could just jump in my car and leave as soon as the play was over. Check.....another successful part of our solo venture. I think this is going well!!!

The musical was awesome. We laughed and sang and enjoyed the whole experience. It was not quite the New York musical I had seen this summer but it was an opportunity to expose Sara to something besides our local AMC movie theater. Culture never hurts!

Getting out of the musical hall was perfect! We beat the crowd, got in the car, and followed my husbands instructions...just push "GO HOME" on the GPS. I can do that..or not! Go home was not what I expected. The route was down I30 and I do not do freeways. Must have missed a turn because all of a sudden I was headed toward Waco...get off the freeway...GPS is recalculating. It recalculated me through the worst parts of downtown Dallas. I have never even ventured here in daylight hours so in the dead of the night was not a good thing. Call my husband who is out at the lake....I am soooo lost. His reaction..."quit crying". At this point I was beyond tears and into nervous breakdown mode. I had to hang up and regroup. Now I am totally out of downtown and into some industrial part of nowhere. Again...not good. Oh YEA! I see a policeman. I can just follow him and get his attention and beg for directions. After all he surely knows my husband who has been with the PD for 40 years. He will have sympathy for me and Sara. He was not acknowledging me so I thought I better honk at him...for two miles. Are you kidding me??? They arrest people like me and he will not even pull over. So I continue to follow and honk...all the way to the underground entrance of the Lew Sterrett Justice Center (i.e. the jail). Apparently his prisoner in the back seat took precedence over me!!! I thought I had better back out and devise another plan. Maybe just heading back toward the lights of downtown is a good idea. At this point my poor daughter who is trying not to jump out of the car to escape my hysteria thought it would be a good idea to stop at a gas station and ask for help. She really had no idea that you just do not do this at 11:30 pm where we were. There were people sitting on the curb with all of their worldly possessions in a backpack. Stop??...but I really had no choice. After telling her to stay put and not open her car door no matter what, I ventured into the Stop and Go and begged..."please, someone get me back to Garland". The kindest two men sensed my pain and one even offered to fill his gas tank and lead me home. Thank you whoever you were!! No, I did not need that much help but they carefully guided me to the right place from which I was able to get home...one hour and 10 minutes later.

Final thought on this...My faith is now restored in humanity and I am proud of myself. I am not willing to repeat this experience but I did it. I was alone late at night and I did it! And people are good and kind and I trust strangers now....because I had to.

Edit: This bizarre story can all be verified by my poor daughter who was along for the ride!!