It seems odd that my first post ever as a blogger would be about my experience at "Wheeler's Restaurant" in ....well, I don't know what town in Oklahoma. But, nonetheless, I have been meaning to start a blog, and I think I want to tell this story! I will start by saying that my kids and I made a trip to Melissa, TX on Monday to get ready for the birth of my sister's baby. Anna, J. Ross and I were able to stay with Josh's parents in Rowlett, so while they were playing with their cousin and grandparents, I was at the hospital with my sister, parents, and the new baby! Lynli was born at 7:50 a.m. on Monday morning and weighed 9 lbs. 7 ounces. What a cutie!
Today I brought the kids up to the hospital with me, so we spent the day taking pictures of "the cousins," the grandparents and cousins, Ryan and Melani with the baby, me with the baby, me with my mom and dad and the baby, me with my sister and the baby. . .could it get more fun than this? (I am being serious.) Anyway, I digress. Where was I? Oh yes, Wheeler's Restaurant. So, at some point, I decided we should probably leave and drive home to Arkansas. By the time we actually get in the car, it is 5:15 p.m. That's right, I plan on driving north on HWY 75 in the middle of rush hour traffic. That's just the way I roll. I won't mention the roundabout way I found of getting on 75 North from the hospital, adding at least 30 minutes to my driving time. This doesn't get me down though. What does get me down, is being pulled over by a police officer who clocked me at 68 in a 60 in Sherman, TX. No worries, he just gave me a warning, since his primary purpose in pulling me over was for "highway jurisdiction." What? I have never heard of such a thing. Apparently, they stopped a lady yesterday, who was driving with her three grandchildren. She had illegal substances in her car. What a pity. I'm confused though. Does that mean they are now pulling over only people who have kids in the backseat? The officer asked me twice if I was sure I did not have illegal substances in the car. Yes, I am sure. But, for some reason, I still feel nervous? I think I am still hoping I don't get a ticket for going 68 in a 60. He proceeds to ask me if he can check my trunk! Please do. When I pop the trunk, he sees 4 plants that my mother gave me to plant, two overnight bags, and some scrapbooking materials. I reach for my overnight bag, and he says, that's fine ma'am. That's enough. You may shut your trunk. He then tells me I only get a warning, and to get those kids home safe. Phew.
Okay, back to Wheeler's. We stopped in Atoka for dinner at 7:45ish. No, not at Wheeler's Restaurant, at Mazzio's. This is uneventful, except for J. Ross and Anna asking the two motorcyclists where they were going with that pizza (on the back of the motorcycle). The dude had to turn off his motorcycle to even hear the question. He told us to enjoy our dinner. Smile.
What seemed like 10 minutes after leaving Mazzio's in Atoka, Anna has an emergency. She has to go to the bathroom. I can tell she is having a major problem, but there is nowhere to go. I ask her if we need to pull over, but she thinks she can wait until we find a place. I finally see a sign that says, somewhere in "11 miles". I still have no idea what was in 11 miles, I just know it's some place. Anna, can you wait 10 minutes? She looks fretful, but willing. All the while, I am asking her, do you need me to pull over? Here comes another sign for somewhere in "4 miles." It's funny, when you are looking desperately for a place to stop, it doesn't really matter what the name of the place is, all that matters, is how long it will take to get there. Once we finally reach somewhere, Anna's eyes are peeled for a gas station. I have never seen a child more thrilled to see a gas station. She almost jumps out of her seat and screams "There's a gas station!!!!" I see that, but it looks closed and scary. How about the Shamrock, Anna? Okay, but then, to my right, I see a restaurant...Wheeler's Restaurant...The sign is small. I can still see the sign of this glorious place. Red letters. Anna hastily unbuckles her seatbelt, and I go around to get J. Ross out of his carseat. We can't find his shoe, but oh well. He will wear one. We rush in and tell the "folks" that we have an emergency bathroom problem. About three of the people standing at the door point their arms that way. There is barely enough time for me to feel guilty that I have no intentions of buying any food here, and that my daughter is about to stink their bathroom up to high heavens. I don't realize how cute this restaurant is until I get to the doorway of the bathroom. It is labeled "cowgirls." Oh my goodness. We go inside the restroom. I have never seen a more adorable bathroom. I would have never imagined how much better this would be than the Shamrock bathroom. Nothing against the Shamrock. It actually had a dry sink, but with a red and white splotchy bowl for the sink. The toilet seat looks like beautifully stained wood. Hard wood floors. Anyway, while Anna and J. Ross take care of business in this clean, adorable bathroom, I cannot help but start to feel thankful. Not only did we make it there with no mess in the car, but we got to come in this nice place and use a really cute bathroom. And, I'm not even a bathroom snob. I know some people that are really picky about where they use the restroom. I am not this kind. I had a squatty potty in my apartment in China for a year, for heaven's sake. I can pretty much go anywhere. But, one cannot deny the comfort of a nice restroom. Anyway, it gets better. When we finish, we go out to find the same people who pointed out the restroom to us. It is as if they were waiting to see if everything came out okay. No pun intended. I assured them that it did, and they begin to admire Anna's red curly hair. Then we notice that one of these people is wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy clothes. "J. Ross, it's a real live cowboy!" I say. I think J. Ross believes me (see photo at the top of this post). His eyes are big. The cowboy quickly corrects me. "I'm a cow-'man'. Cowboys don't pay the bills." He then proceeds to draw the kids attention to the biggest gumball machine I have ever seen. Ask your mommy if you can have one. Of course I say yes. Why wouldn't I let my children chew a huge gumball at 9:00 at night? The kids are enamored with this gumball buying cow-man. After chewing half his gum, J. Ross takes it out and offers it to the cow-man. Our fingers get sticky, and he goes to get napkins. He comes back with wet napkins! He is so smart. There is more conversation. I will leave out all the details, like how the cow-man has red hair too, oh, and false teeth. That's right, he told J. Ross, that, no, he couldn't chew any gum, because he has false teeth. It turns out, that the cow-man and his wife were the owners of this charming place which I will never forget. If any of you have travelled with children, especially alone and at night, you must understand how an experience like this one is appreciated. We got back in the car, and we all realized what a blessing it was to find a restaurant like this on Highway 75. In realizing this small way in which God provided for us this evening, it made me think of his provision for our family over the years. The owner told me that restaurant has been there 20 years, but I have never noticed it. If you ever get hungry between Atoka and McAlister, Oklahoma on Highway 75, you have to stop at Wheeler's! You'll be glad you did!
