A “Coddiwompling” Misadventure

We went off “a’coddiewompling” (“to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination”) yesterday morning in Odysseus (our mini-motor home).  Thirty minutes from home Odysseus’ “check engine light” lit up again, as it has been doing for weeks.  The light isn’t the color “red” but it has the same meaning—STOP!  We were about a half-hour drive from the hospital (garage) where Odysseus had just spent two weeks being examined for this “stress” light issue.  We called the garage and were invited to return, which we did.  We sat in the waiting room for about two and a half hours.  The issue, the “doctors” thought after doing a scan test, was a tube installed during the previous visit . The tube was replaced at no charge and we took off once again “a’coddiewompling.”  

It was apparent as we drove along that Odysseus was still ailing.  He just wasn’t himself.  What to do?  We decided to travel on.  About 100 miles later, however, that pesky engine light lit up again! So, we made a U-Turn and returned home. Odysseus will go back to the hospital today.  We have canceled our cross-country adventure for the time being, accepting with frustration and disappointment “a’coddiewompling” misadventure.

The word misadventure means an unfortunate incident.  Synonyms include words like:  setback, reversal, mishap, debacle, and trouble.  Life is full of misadventures.  They happen!  And they happen to all of us.  How we handle our misadventures is up to us.

So, we couldn’t coddiewomple—so what?  There are many people who never have the opportunity.  So, Odysseus (while being named is not a “person” but a material thing) can be repaired or replaced, or we can hop an airplane or catch a train and coddiewomple in a new way.  What doesn’t hurt us or kill us, makes a great story or blog—as I am telling now.  So, we didn’t make it, but we came to acknowledge again that our plans often go awry.   And finally, some of our most memorable moments happen, even in our misadventures.  The Shenandoah Valley was a beautiful sight yesterday, bathed in sunlight and spring freshness.  We’ll always remember yesterday’s drive through that valley, in spite of the pesky engine light.