The Trip in Brief, A Lotta Grief
This is a real quickie post (for me), but I’m insanely busy.
1: Theo is a great traveling companion: We logged over 2000 miles, and he was an angel throughout, curled up on my lap with his head in the crook of my elbow, or on the floorboard at my feet the entire time we were traveling. No matter where we went, he was a perfect gentledog (except for the whole pooping thing), and he wheedled his way into hearts from Ohio to Tennessee to Arkansas, then home again.
2: The best laid plans: I was really looking forward to meeting bloggers Red, Brian and Allison in Clarksville, Tennessee. We were having a little trouble agreeing on a time, but our plans all went up in smoke anyway when Baby Brother McQueen called and said that he was going to be in Nashville and wanted me to meet him there. I felt terrible, but he’s from Michigan and I don’t get to see him much.
He accidentally took me to Morton’s, one of the nicest steakhouses in Nashville (he mistook it for another, cheaper restaurant he’d been to). We had a ball, drinking pricey drinks, eating overpriced food (including his $8 french fries), and conversing about life. We walked around downtown Nashville, and saw someone who I’m sure was famous exiting a white stretch limo. I know nothing about country music, so this moment was almost entirely wasted on me, except for the fact that the guy was gorgeous.
At some point, I really took notice of my brother, dressed in his khakis and his button-down shirt, fidgeting with something on his new car, and it occurred to me that wow– we’re really middle aged. But later, as he cranked up the stereo and we rode down the highway screaming Who songs at the tops of our lungs, I realized that in a way, we’d always be fourteen and fifteen-year olds, laughing and being ridiculously silly.
He got a hotel room with double beds so I could camp out there, and as the night wore on, he started getting a migraine, a recurring malady that he developed at about age five, after our father intentionally tripped him on a linoleum floor and busted his skull. I rubbed his head and we talked until he was finally able to get some rest. As I drifted off to sleep, I thought about the fact that inside many businessmen are little boys who spend their lives overcoming the torment of cruel fathers. My brother is amazing- a wonderful husband, a doting father, and a truly good man.
3: My sister, the scientist: My baby sis has shopping down to a science– seriously, she should have DS (for Doctor of Shopping) after her name. Personally, malls make me itch, but to see her in action at Macy’s is actually an enjoyable experience. I think she has the layout of the store memorized, and thanks to her, I got some great stuff.
4: I have incredible friends and family: They all seem to possess huge hearts and big brains. I felt a lot of love on this trip.
5: My brother-in-law built a man cave under his house. It’s like the Bat Cave, only cooler.
6: Camping out on a sofa in an apartment rented by three teenaged girls (including my daughter) who never seem to sleep does not make for restful nights. It does make for some great fun though. I was honored that their friends were so accepting of the old lady camped out in the living room, and of the hyperactive puppy that wanted to cuddle with each of them. I heard some great stories, and some horrifying ones too, but I was glad that they didn’t censor themselves because I was there.
7: I really felt like a writer on this trip. One friend asked me to read and edit a couple of her short stories, and an acquaintance (an English teacher at Case-Western) called me from Michigan to ask if he could send me some of his writing to review. Most mornings, I was able to write a bit, and my head is filled with ideas for stories and articles.
8: My ex-husband is my ex-husband for a reason. I saw him a couple of times, and it just seemed so impossible to imagine that we were ever married. The more we talked, the more I remembered why we divorced. We were very civil though– I adjusted his glasses and he bought my lunch.
9: I played a LOT of word games. For some reason, every time certain people see me, they demand a rematch of either Scrabble or Boggle. I think people were holding word game grudges from five years ago.
10: I learned a lot about my relationship with my children. More on this later.
11: I spent a lot of time with my son, which was great. He’s got an amazing heart and a brain the size of a bus, but he’s inherited some of his parents’ quirkiness, poor guy.
He’s an incredible musician. At my daughter’s apartment, he picked up a guitar and absent-mindedly started playing all of these great songs. We started goofing off and singing “Kumbaya,” which caused everyone who was sleeping upstairs to come down and chastise us. His current love, however is the chromatic harmonica. I like the fact that he plays the Ramones, yet worships Toots Thielemans and takes jazz lessons.
I love the way his mind works. He’s thirsty for knowledge, and spends much of his free time at the library. He also has a really sweet girlfriend who has a really sweet motor scooter.
12: Last but not least…
Tom and I are parting ways. We don’t know if this is temporary or permanent, but right now, our hearts are breaking. We’re still best friends, and still in love, so this is not a bitter time, just a difficult one. I won’t be writing for a few days, because I’m crying, packing and moving. I won’t be answering comments for a while, but I will be reading.
Home Again, Home Again Jiggety Jig
Theo and I made it back at about 11:30 Tuesday night. I drove for twelve hours straight, which was easier than I’d anticipated, although by the time I hit Indianapolis I was staying awake by drinking Red Bull and alternating listening to a Spanish radio station and a heavy metal one, taking the chopstick that was holding up my hair and using it as a drumstick on my dashboard. I think I may have a future with Motley Crue.
Things are changing, things are busy, I am tired. It was a fantastic trip– I got to see many loved ones, and I learned many things. Here’s the main thing I discovered: I am a sucky photographer. I kept forgetting to take pictures of friends and family, and ended up with about 2,768 photos of dogs and plants. I chalk this up to middle age, although it could just be that I’m stupid. Anyway, I’ve been wrestling with flickr for two days now, and I can’t seem to get it working the way I want to. Maybe, just maybe, if you go to this link and click on the sets on the right-hand side of the page, you can see some dandy flora and fauna photos (pay no attention to the photostream, which is just a mess). If you click on the photos themselves, there are captions and stuff.
There’s much to tell. I’ll be back soon, as soon as I recover from a bad case of Driver’s Bootie.
The Car, the Kids, the Mountains and the Mongrel
I’m writing this from the library. Yes, they have libraries in the Ozarks.
Things are going well, except for this whole thing about the air compressor in my car going out, having to have money wired from Ohio, and being vehicle-less for three days. It could have been worse.
I’ve hung out with my children, visited with old friends and restomped my old stomping grounds. It’s been great. Theo’s enjoying the whole thing, and everyone seems to be in love with him, which is good, since I’m toting him around like a small bag of groceries almost everywhere I go.
I’ll probably be heading back to Ohio on Thursday or Friday. I’ll write a longer, juicier post then. In the meantime, I’m missing you, blog buddies, and wish I was able to share this mountainous mountain beauty with you. Hope you’re all well!
