Still Driving
Woke in Houston yesterday ready to go home. A big storm, however, sat between here and there. So, I waited. Watched the radar. Visited with the family. Ate a good breakfast of French toast, bacon, and sausage. As we ate, my grand-daughter and I determined the minimum allocation of bacon at breakfast should be three slices, with sausage coming in at two patties. It’s nice to get business settled. I don’t think her mom agrees, but we made our case Eventually, the radar showed the heavy weather had passed.
I kissed the kids, loaded my gear and loaded myself into the car. I started driving. There was lingering rain almost all the way home. Nothing serious, but the traffic was heavy and that made for slow going at times. The sky cleared when I reached home and the backside of the front. It seemed a good sign. Earlier I’d received a dinner invitation for that evening. Got home at four, showered, shaved and took off at 5. The evening sun put a nice gold patina on everything and at the end of my hour long drive, the moon hung big and bright in the evening sky as I passed over the devil’s backbone. I wanted to stop and should have stopped, but maybe I’ll do that next time. Meanwhile, the picture is in my mind.
I wanted to make this about passing through life’s storms and getting through to the other side, but it’s raining this morning and it’s cold, and it seems as though the weather is still with us, and life’s storms are probably still there, too. I guess that’s a lesson. Weather is just a fact of life whether it’s the real deal with cold rain or just a bucket load of personal turmoil. I believe you just bundle up and make your way through it while trying to stay warm and dry. And it helps to have good friends to feed you once in a while and crack open a bottle of red wine or two.
John W. Wilson is the author of The Long Goodbye: A Caregiver’s Tale