The Worm Fiasco

We opened the tent flap to find a wriggling mass of worms strewn across the tent floor and crawling inside a bag of Doritos. My planned snack had become a buffet for lunch happy worms.  Hysterics are followed by giggles.  Rain pours down on our heads.  With a disgusted shake of his head, dad grunts and turns away.  We follow, a soggy mess of humans.  The pea-green station wagon sniffs out a motel and another adventure -gone wrong- finds us in the beautiful moutains of Cherokee, N.C..  http://www.cherokeemountain.com/

We'd had a wonderful time that day, looking at local scenery. Trees with leaves as bright as the green giant, and as tall too.  People, open smiles, welcome to strangers that were just passing through.  The rain, forecaster of a sodden day, had us heading towards our tent and the promise of an end to the driving rain.  The opened tent flap revealed other local residents-not so polite-but definitely willing to share the warmth and the feast of an opened bag of Doritos.

Mom and I had giggled and giggled.  Dad had been frustrated.  Nothing worse than a vacation gone bad.  We'd ended up having a fun time- still.  Not all vacations have to stop being an adventure because something goes wrong.  That in itself can be an adventure.  Where will we stay?  Where is the next motel that's not filled to capacity?  Where are the restrooms, I really have to go! When do we eat- the worms ate my snack.

Over the years many things have brought fond memories to mind.  This is one of them.  I can still feel  the cold drops of rain on my head, before they slide down my neck.  I can still feel the hysteria, the bubbling of laughter, as hundreds of worms had taken over the safe haven we had been running to, at the end of our day.  The worm fiasco is one of my fondest memories for this was a time of adventure, of laughter, a time of togetherness for our family.

In the end this adventure led me to realize life is one adventure after another, whether we have things go the way we want them to or not.  We can giggle about it- as mom and I did- or we can turn away in frustration as dad did.  Either way life will go on in the pattern that it's meant to go in.  I think of the worm fiasco, sometimes, when I need life to balance out.  When I picture those wriggling worms in my Doritos bag again, I break into gales of laughter and all is right with my world once more.