Trips with the Family
Last time we met I was sharing with you the mishap we were having at the rest area in Alabama, which consisted of puke, a broken antique jar, and dog food strewn all over the parking lot. We were only two hours into our 12-hour journey to Louisiana, and the children were already restless.
After we got the huge mess cleaned up…we returned to the highway, hoping to make up some lost time. Thirty minutes up the road however…Mackenzie had to pee again. Thank God I needed some fuel; otherwise I would have just lost my ever loving mind!
One thing we can always count on during these trips is the dvd player and the television that is in the van. I tell you man; one two hour movie can really help the miles to go by. You ought to see how fast Cheryl can move when it comes time to put in a new movie after the last one has ended. I tell ya…NASCAR pit crews have nothing on my wife!
After 12 glorious hours on the road, 195 bathroom stops, two bank breaking fuel-ups, one excursion into a super Wal-Mart for groceries, 75 “walkings of the dog,” three cell calls for directions, and one missed turn; we arrived at my Cousin Stacy’s house in Alexandria. Thank the good Lord!
Stacy’s house was easy to find; it was lit up like Bagdad on the eleven o’clock news, had a big travel trailer in the front yard, and Stacy was standing there all aglow in the Christmas light, while hanging up with me from the last of the three calls for directions, after the aforementioned wrong turn. Man, were we glad to see her! We turned off the van, and bum rushed the poor girl’s house with a fury of children and dog that would rival any invasion by the GBI; first person to the bathroom? Mackenzie of course!
We had a terrific dinner, helped our children get acquainted, caught up on about 10 years of life, and after a good while, we went to bed. Why is it that after a long road trip we forget about how tired we were two hours before, on the road, and somehow end up staying up for hours to talk? Although this practice is quite common…it’s absolutely nuts! By the time we got to sleep it was really late, and we were exhausted.
On Saturday, we slept in a little, and then got ready to go see my Grandfather. Most of my aunts and uncles were supposed to be at lunch, so I was real eager to get to my aunt’s house. There is a magic to the moment you walk into a house with your children for the first time.
It all seems so new and wonderful; with hugging and kissing and “so good to see you’s” and all of that stuff. The real moment of reckoning for me was when I saw my Grandfather sitting there in his chair.
It had been almost three years since I’d seen him last at my Grandmother’s funeral. That day was the only time if my life that I had ever seen him shed a tear. Now, there before me, was a giant of a man, in a frail and weakened body; I was taken back…and did my best to keep my composure.
I knew that he had been getting weak, but you are never prepared to see the toll that life can take on even the strong-nest of heroes. I went to him, hugged his precious neck, told him I loved him…and went to find a place to cry for a minute. Sorry…but I did my best.
We got to spend all day there with my family, and it was awesome!
We even played that silly gift game where you get to choose a gift, then someone else can take it from you; leaving you to have to go get another one. White Elephant is what they call it I think. Anyway, we had fun…and ate like Cajun kings!
Later on in the day, my uncle got out these lake bikes for the kids. We went down to the water’s edge to watch the children ride these things…and it was a riot. They are very much like riding an upright bike, but on floats, and on the water.
As you pedal, you actually are turning a propeller that is below the water surface. All was going well, until Cheryl decides that she would like to ride one of these things. You need to realize…Cheryl does not know how to turn on water!
There was this one incident, in Panama City, with a jet ski, and a rescue patrol…never mind; I’ll get back to my story
Cheryl got on one of these bikes and took off for open water. After about five minutes, I realized that she was still heading out to sea. As her form continued to get smaller and smaller…I remembered the jet ski incident and got nervous! As I stood there, helplessly watching her disappear on the horizon, I wondered if we would ever see her again!
To be continued…
Jason, father of six