ROAD TRIPPIN'

Summer time is the time for road trips, visiting family and friends, and taking long car trips across the country. I hate road trips. I hate driving, therefore a road trip is not on my agenda, BUT I respect the idea. I have done it before. We all grew up on family road trips and seeing the country from the back seat.
As an adult, I realize it is so much more.
This summer, I got the opportunity to take a couple road trips. One with my hubby, and one with my 20 year old, college aged daughter. Both trips were very important to me, simple because I was looking forward to spending the time together with people I rarely get to spend that amount of quality time with. Even in a car, I wanted it.
As much as I despise being in a car for more than 15-20 minutes, I couldn't wait to trek a few hours, or a few days with my family. I realized, these moments define what, and how, we remember summers with our loved ones.

My husband and I drove from Denver, to South Dakota. In search of Mount Rushmore, we headed out on a trek to seek the holy grail, so to speak. How could I have reached age 48 and not seen Mt. Rushmore? Who knows, but we decided it was the perfect destination for this trip.
Then we arrived...

Mt Rushmore

The fog had dropped and we could no more see George Washington from the viewing deck in South Dakota than we could see him (and his three compadres) from Denver. It was a wash. I hate to say it but, "That's why I hate road trips". What was the point?

So, we drove on, and towards our final goal of Washington D.C., found ourselves at Notre Dame.
A landmark to both of us. We love football. Anyone who loves football has some respect for Notre Dame and their football program. So, we stopped here, toured the campus, re-lived our college weekends in a campus pub, and moved on emotionally from the disappointment of Mt Rushmore.

We woke up the next day and decided to just haul ass to our destination. The fun was over. We were 50/50 at road trip satisfaction and now adjusting our age and stamina to our actual desire to be in a car/ truck even one minute longer, much less one more day, we put the peddle to the medal, and pushed towards the east coast.
Then, I woke up...
One sign. A miracle I even saw it. The dedication and memorial to United flight 93 which downed in Stoystown, Pennsylvania. 9-11. We were passing it. And, although 100 miles out of our way, I knew immediately, this is why we'd come.
Those moments of serendipity...kismet....when you realize why you are where you are, and how you got there no longer matters. Sometimes, it is exactly about the journey.
We'd found what we'd been looking for.
My entire career was based on one day of terror. A day I resigned myself to stand up for those who were still terrorized. Those that stood before me. Those that dedicated their life to flying free, and flying American.
We veered off course to our destiny.
My destiny.

I cannot explain in words the emotion that overtook me as we walked the grounds, viewed the crash site, listened to the audio from that fateful day. We were able to see all the names, some video, and the stories of the passengers, the flight crew, and even the unborn passenger whose mom's name is now etched in permanence in a memorial to all who flew that day and gave their lives.
I posted a note on the message board in honor of my peers and fellow Americans, "We will never forget. SWA FA S. S. K."
I fly now, for you.

The road trip I resisted so much had meaning, and every summer, I have new found respect for those who gather their families for the memories, and the trips... the adventures that will mean so much, some day, to those who take them.

We will never forget.

Part TWO:
My daughter and I took a short road trip (in theory) from Denver to St Louis. We only made it to Goodland before my car gave out. Kaput!
We spent 2.5 days together in Goodland KS, wondering, what do people do here?
Needless to say, we got an education in smalltownology. We also got an opportunity to spend some one on one, quality time together. Time we had not gotten since my daughter's senior year of high school, 3 years prior. I soaked it in.
I won't bore you with details of mom-daughter relationships, or boring small-town eatery woes, but I will say, again, I was blessed with an opportunity. A reminder to live in the moment. To embrace these times with your children. With your loved ones. With your small slice of life. Embrace it. And screw broken cars, and strange people and self-absorbtion. Be 100% with yourself and with your family all the time. It's all you have. Especially while road trippin'.
Peace~

Bill's shootin' shop

World's largest Van Gogh

Goodland, KS

The Holidays

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times"...Charles Dickens had something there.
You see the best of human spirit and kindness and the worst of mankind come out during the holidays. Just add liquor and too much sugar...
I look forward to the holidays, but I am also very conscious about how much time I can spend with certain family members, how much egg nog to have, and what years I should just fly to an island and retreat.
People lose their minds during the holidays - the stress of travel is just the beginning. At the airport, thousands and thousands of families are crossing the country to reconnect during this special time of year. The smiles and the giggles have just as much impact as the tears and the screaming matches. My heart breaks every day during this season, but is filled with the love that is pouring through this vehicle of family connection. The children are so excited to tell you they are going to Florida to see Grandpa and Santa will find them ...even in Orlando.
Or the thousands of Unaccompanied Minors who all have a story to tell you about skiing in Aspen, or how their dad is always late picking them up.

There is much to be said about unresolved family issues that explode during the second course of Christmas dinner. Aunt Madge makes a simple comment about Dad's job, "Hey, how did that new promotion work out", and Dad throws a biscuit across the table. Years of Aunt Madge "putting him down...he'll never be good enough", etc etc is what Dad heard. Meanwhile Mom is throwing back G & T's in the kitchen because Grandma has been hovering over the turkey all day, "helping".
Funny enough, as different as every household looks like, they are remarkably similar. Every family has their good times and their bad times. It's when they pull together at times like the holidays when each gets to see how special they are.
Spread love this season. Try to remember that everyone is hanging on to something that was way more important to them than you know, and just let it go.

Find the mistletoe, and let it go.
This Christmas..

Teens and the probability of a heart attack

The morning drive to school.

Early morning.

Lights on.

Me and the Girl.

My teenage girl.

Madelene is trying out for the high school soccer team. She has played most of her life, so this is no surprise. We talked about the physical examination which is required, and in the discussion about health - family health history came up.

I told Maddi how heart disease and cancer runs in our family. I told her of my fear of having a heart attack and she seemed surprised (due to my tender age of 41). But, realistically speaking, my natural grandfather's, my uncle's and my cousin either died in their 40's of a heart attack, or had some heart issue by the time they were 40 years old. This is not uncommon in my family. Maddi reminded me that these were the men in the family, so probability remains low that I will die of a heart attack. Maybe, but statistics show more women dying of heart disease - and heart issues going unnoticed and untreated because of these same theories.

I told her I didn't think I would die anytime soon, but I might have a little attack, quickly followed by a come to Jesus - which sparked an entire new conversation on what a, "come to Jesus" was. I laughed so hard. Then I got serious again - I have had a lot of these moments lately. I don't know if it is the new year, or my position in life, or pre-menopause - I can't tell you what is causing these feelings for life to rise up lately. But they are overwhelming and necessary. I looked at her with all the love in my heart and told her - I was not planning on dying, but if I did, I wanted her to know how she has changed my life. That she is special and beautiful and smart and the whole world will laugh around her because of the joy she brings to a room. I told her I am lucky to be her mom and if I never got the opportunity to tell her how special she was again (I could get hit by a car today), I wanted her to know for the rest of her life, she changed my life.

She told me to pick her up at 4:30.

I love teenagers.