It was the quickest trip we ever made to New York City.
Ginny, our 6 year-old, had a placement test scheduled at a
Christian school we’re looking into. When we took a tour of the place we really
liked it and could easily envision Ginny scampering around with the kids we
encountered, and so we decided to go ahead and put in an application. All new
students must take a placement test to determine their academic levels and
knowledge, and it needed to be done soon. Hey,
let’s make a family fun time out of it! we thought. That may take some of the sting out of it for Ginny. (We hoped to
make it as fun as possible for our daughters, especially Ginny, who thoroughly
enjoys New York City itself, but who wells up with tears when she thinks about
the possibility of leaving her current elementary school.)
Ever heard the expression, “We plan, and God laughs”? Well,
plans changed.
A major snowstorm was forecast for the entire northeast, and
New York City was going to get about a foot of snow (or more – every time we
checked the weather updates, the totals went up two more inches). We almost
canceled the trip, because though it might be possible to make the appointment,
we would have to turn right around and come home to avoid getting snowed in.
Ultimately, after praying about it and asking several others
to pray, we decided to keep our appointment. We left our house just before
4:30pm on Thursday and arrived a bit after 10pm at Priority 1’s apartment in
the Bronx (the drive is that long only because of dinner, gasoline, and potty
stops – one could make it in less than four hours if one were less, um,
encumbered). We got the girls to bed as quickly as we could, though now they
were wired and hyper.
At 7am Friday morning Ginny awoke, much earlier than her
parents desired, but hey, it’s better than having to drag her out of bed. Upon
looking out the window, we found, to our dismay and alarm, that snow was
already falling, and had covered the sidewalks and cars. The streets looked OK,
though – one nice thing about winter weather in big cities is the fact that
constant traffic flow keeps the roads passable for longer. We called the school
and politely asked if there was any way we could come early – the appointment
was at 11am – because we were somewhat anxious about getting out of town. They
said that we could come in whenever we could get there, and that they would
work around our schedule.
Needless to say, we quickened our steps.
We got to the school about 10:30, half an hour before her
actual appointment, and they took Ginny back after just a couple of minutes. I
(Greg) had just enough time to repark the van – apparently I was in danger of
being towed away where I’d parked – and come back inside the school to dry my
snow-soaked head, when Ginny hops out of the room where she’d had her test,
about 20 minutes after she went in. She looked happy, and the woman who gave
her the test said she’d done just fine.
Well then. After a couple of questions for the admin
director, we skedaddled. It was just after 11am, when Ginny’s test was originally
supposed to begin. Whew!
Roads were fine, just wet really, though there was a
slippery spot or two in New Jersey. To make up for not doing anything fun in
the city, we let the girls get a donut on the way home, and we even stopped at
Cabela’s to look at the dead animals. Ginny liked the moose the best. We got
home at about 5pm, just over 24 hours after we left.
On Monday, Bethany got a call from the school. They would
love to have Ginny attend there and when we pay the registration fee, her spot
will be reserved for her.
We hadn’t expected such a quick response. We suddenly find
ourselves having to commit to an actual date on the calendar, which doesn’t
seem that difficult, except we hardly have any financial support raised yet. Do
we step out in faith that God will provide what we need in time, or is it more
prudent to wait until we’re on more secure financial footing? If we wait, the
spot at the school may disappear; we have to decide soon.
Pray for us! We need more wisdom and discernment and faith
and trust and love every day.
