I really like to drive... To me, driving is relaxing; gives me a chance to unwind, sing along to the radio, enjoy the countryside. So, you might think I would jump at the chance to go on a road trip... BUT, when my dad suggested about six weeks ago that he and I should hop in the car and drive out to Boston to surprise my sister for her Birthday/Thanksgiving, I was momentarily paralyzed by the thought of that many hours in the car. Massachusetts is far from Wisconsin...really far...1,100 miles far. I told him I would "think about it" and let him know...
Naturally, my first instinct was to buy my way out East... surely I could find a plane, train, SOMETHING, that was available and would get us out there in less than twenty-hours?!? Ahhhhh... How much is your time worth??? Short of maxing out a credit card or refinancing my house, there was no reasonable way to get to Boston. What did I expect when trying to travel on a holiday, right?!?
After abandoning the hope of finding an economical and yet efficient way to get to Mass., I started the task of convincing myself that a road trip of this magnitude was not that big of a deal... as long as we didn't end up in a blizzard... or fall asleep driving... get lost... hit a deer... Okay, rationalization was not helping. Hmmmm...
What finally convinced me? A memory from the past... When I was twelve or thirteen my family took a road trip to Florida... Mom, Dad, Brother, Sister, Me. My little sister was the youngest and she had the job of sleeping and/or doing whatever she wanted to do on the way to Florida. My brother and I had to take "shifts" with one of our parents...he hung out with Mom; I hung out with Dad. Our assignment was to keep them awake... Awake? Yes, awake... My dad subscribes to the "let's drive all night so we can get through Chicago in the dark" theory of planning and executing road trips. Never one to just sit still and chat, I chose to find ways to entertain my dad as we drove. Singing along to the radio, using a stuffed dolphin as the microphone... Dressing him up in different sunglasses, etc. and then taking his picture (I still have a picture of him, all "dressed up", on my refrigerator)... Most memorable was probably my mom speaking up from the backseat "are you two awake?", as we BOTH were napping in the front seat...ooops. Such good memories...
There is nothing more convincing for me than a sweet memory from the past... As I contemplated the whole idea, all I could think was "why not?". Why not have the fun of surprising my sister by doing something a little crazy? If I could not spend the holiday with O, shouldn't I try to spend it with as much family as I could? What an opportunity to spend some quality time with my dad, just he and I, catching up with each other... If I didn't go, wouldn't I be mad at myself later for letting the chance slip by? What would I have missed, if I did not go?
We went...and it was a great trip. A completely ridiculous, mind-numbingly long, sometimes funny, sometimes unreal trip. The reaction from my sister alone (my brother-in-law knew we were coming) was truly worth the twenty-hour car ride. I had one of my favorite Thanksgiving's ever... I know that it was a great decision to go and I value the time I had with my family so very much. And the pictures are pretty good, too (I might have a new one for the fridge...think red boa).
1 comment:
AFter posting to your end of the year comment, I noticed your "Tripping" post. That brought back a volume of memories. Driving in the dark--that was always an experience. Taking the camper to the Gulf Coast, and your brother getting pulled over by the Illinois State Police for speeding--your Dad taped the warning ticket to the camper's frig just as a reminder. Crossing Nebraska in the dark--well, that's not much different than crossing Nebraska in the daylight, actually. Taking a picture of ourselves in the snow in Wyoming in June, only to notice fresh bear tracks in the snow between our feet. Scramble back to the car--you fell into the creek on the way--and finding the car doors locked because your mother chose not to carry her purse. Who was going to rob us on a desolate mountain highway anyway? The bear? Oh well, your brother crawled into the closed camper for a coat hanger, we got the doors unlocked, and your jeans dried in the wind as we drove down the mountainside. Ahhh, such memories.
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