The Trip

As suspected…..no wifi is to be had. Still though….I blog! It is a very cool morning here in Bismarck, MO. For those of you who have no idea where this is….we are just a little SW of St. Louis! I know this well as although I have been here many times over the years, I can still manage to get lost on the trip and make what should be an 8 hour trip turn into a hellacious 14 hour trip. Okay….maybe not 14 hours….but I bet if you asked my children right now…..they would say it definitely felt like 14. I blame Google Maps! It has been five years since last I made this trek and we all know I can’t remember what I ate for supper last night…..let alone remember what roads I took to get to Bismarck five years ago. So I mapped it on Google. Now I did awesome from Wichita to Columbia, MO……but after that it became a blur of back roads and strangers laughing at me when I asked for directions. Mainly because of the obscure directions Google gave me. And then there were the other drivers on the road. I thought leaving on Thursday would help me to avoid some of the traffic insanity. I was wrong!!!!! Apparently every trucker in the United States was trying to get to their destinations before the holiday weekend. This appeared to make them all just a little bit manic and a whole lot crazy. I thought the days of convoys where over…but if yesterday was any indication…..they are alive and well!  And if they weren’t bad enough…..there were all those drivers that actually knew where they were going weaving in and out of the convoys and mocking the newbie who was obviously lost. I was bordering on road rage as I found myself going 30 mph on hair pin curves on some back road  straight out of the movie Deliverance! I prayed with all my heart that we didn’t blow a tire or flip because the snakes and coyotes would find us long before another human did. And of course…..no cell service. Again….thank you Google. 

Finally we found actual inhabited road again and cell service and my mother in law was able to talk us back to the interstate and safely to her house. I am sad to say though….that my children now are fully aware that “firetruck” is not the only colorful word that starts with F and mommy used it loudly and often on the last leg of yesterday’s journey. It was not one of my finer moments and once again….I blame it on Google. 

Once here …..all was fine. I get a bit of a melancholy feeling though when I pull into the driveway….it brings back all things Tim. He seemed to be everywhere from the front porch to the bed we used to share on our visits. I feel him all around me here and it comforts and unnerves me all at the same time. I think Z may feel it a bit too. Yesterday as we were driving and listening to music…we were discussing Tim, who like Z…..could really sing! Some song came on and Z said…..”wouldn’t it have been awesome if Dad and I could have dueted this song?!” It made me think about just how much Z has missed out on not having his dad around. There are so many things he needs Tim for and so many experiences that they will never get to share. I don’t think Z will fully understand all that he has missed….until he has kids of his own. It makes me a bit sad.

It also makes me sad that David will never know the man whose faith I have no doubt…..is why he is here today. If faith alone can save someone’s life….then it was Tim’s faith that brought David through his many crisis the first few months of his life  and helped him to become the little man he is today. David was Tim’s special child and only I am left to make sure David knows how truly important he was to his daddy’s life. I hope I never fall down on that job!

Well….the day is young and I am sure it will be full. Days at Grandma Carol’s usually are. So I have lived up to my promise of not giving any of you anytime to miss me. So I hope you go forth and have a wonderful and safe start to your Memorial weekend. Happy Friday!

You know I am ever resourceful! I found wifi....at my nieces. Thank you so much Kristie!!!!! So here is today's blog and in honor of yesterdays trip here is AC/DC and Highway to Hell!