Road trips. What does that bring to your mind?
How about miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles?
Of course, with the excitement of the friends and family
you are going to see, the long trips were always worth it.
And what do you do with 4 kids during a road trip?
Road games.
The alphabet game, (still played within my family to this day).
The license plate game, road animals game, games inside the car,
and things to do, thoughtfully brought by Mom,
who knows what hours inside a car will do to a child.
And Dad just drove. And drove . . . and drove.
Until years passed and he started letting the older kids drive.
And Mom stopped sleeping in the car.
I'll never forget the early morning hour experience of Paulina driving
and me riding shot gun, helping keep her awake.
We were in Flagstaff, AZ. Did you know it snows there?
We found out. And when the "semi" zoomed by, filling our windshield
with snow, we were so startled and scared, I really don't remember
what happened after that. I do know Dad went back to sleep.
Did he trust us with his car or what?
Or was he just that exhausted? Have you ever tried raising 4 kids?
I've only raised two, and I still don't know how they did it.
Without going crazy that is.
I can not remember a fall/winter season that Dad didn't hold down two jobs,
just to bring in enough income for the Christmas coming up.
Just the exhaustion alone from having to deal with two jobs,
let alone trying to get enough sleep.
And Mom holding down the fort by herself, let alone trying to keep
all of us quiet while Dad could get some sleep.
Besides the fact that there were still things within the house
that needed to be done. But, apparently, we all got thru that.
There were four of us to deal with, remember.
I have grown to love traveling, and I always think of those road trips,
and the songs that Dad would always break into.
He always tries to make everything a learning experience,
no matter what it is, where or how. And sometimes,
I wonder if even him singing those songs was a learning
experience for me. How those songs still play in my mind,
of course with only Dad's voice singing them.
Don't ask me who the actual singers were, they were not important.
Just hearing Dad belt them out was a pleasure and a comfort, and fun.
"Detour", was a favorite. How he would sing it with all his might.
Thinking of the words now, it makes me wonder, as an adult, if it was
some kind of message Dad would sometimes play in his mind and heart.
Did he sometimes think of all the detour signs he has come across in our
lifetimes? Like, "warning - danger ahead"; "heads up - trouble coming";
and "preparation is the best defense against devastion".
He sure went through his share with all of us. Did he sometimes think
of other roads he could have taken? Did he sometimes think of detour
type ventures that were available to just escape a houseful of
four kids and all the responsibilities?
Did he ever think, as a young man, "I would like to have a houseful of
noisy, demanding kids who require things and stuff all day long,
every day and never have enough time, money or energy for myself and
my wife"? Did he ever have goals and dreams to come true? Were we a part
of those goals and dreams, or was the goal just to get us all raised and
into homes of our own, safe and sane?
Well, if he did contemplate "detours", can't blame him for being human.
Couldn't tell you how many times, while raising only two, that the
grass seemed greener. But, just like him, I learned it is never true.
He sure let us know he loves us, just by staying and putting up with us.
And raising us, and not giving up.
That's how we all came to learn we were definitely loved.
Thanks Dad, for not taking those greener grass detour roads.
Thanks for the road trips.
I love you.
To the Bestest Youngest Son: Lonnie
Click Here
To Share this Page
Tina's Prayer Gate
All Rights Reserved
July/2002
