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The Incredible Journey

Mar21

This summer, we are planning an epic road trip. We’re calling it “The Incredible Journey.” We plan to drive from our home in Orlando, Fla., ultimately to my niece’s wedding in Kirkland, Wash., and back home again.

ImageAll five of us. In the car together for hours on end. It could be torture.

Or it could be the journey of a lifetime.

Our kids–15, 13 and 9–are excited about seeing the Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park, The San Diego Zoo, Yellowstone National Park, spending time with my 94-year-old great aunt, meeting my aunt and uncle for the first time, spending time with cousins.

They’re not so excited about spending 9-10 hours a day in the car. Thank the Lord for an onboard entertainment system.

We’re trying to think of road games, planning what snacks we want to bring along. Saving every penny we have to be able to pay for gas that is headed to more than $4.00 per gallon (we’re thinking of getting sponsors for the various legs of our journey) 🙂

Here’s what I don’t want to happen on this trip: fighting, car trouble, sickness, missing the beauty along the way.

Sometimes we can get so caught up in where we’re headed, we forget that there is joy in the journey. There’s an old Michael Card song that talks about that.

“There is a joy in the journey
There’s a light we can love on the way
There is a wonder and wildness to life
And freedom for those who obey”

Do you have a dream? Enjoy the process of getting there. Have a place in your life you’d eventually like to be? Don’t forget to see what God wants to show you along the way.

Eventually, like I said, we want to end up in Kirkland, Wash., to celebrate the marriage of my youngest niece. But we plan on seeing a whole lot of America in the meantime. It should be incredible.

Thankful today for:

126. a kitty who likes to lie on his back with all four feet spread to the wind

127. trash pick up twice a week

128. new families applying to our school

Brothers

Mar19

Today, I took my two teenagers in to their pediatrician for their annual well-check. Seeing as how Justin now is taller than his doctor, it was an interesting experience. We’ve had the same doctor since Justin was born, and we love him. But I know eventually we will have to move on.

I remember the interview we did with him when I was pregnant. I remember Justin’s induced birth and bout with pneumathorax immediately after, and his brief stay in the NICU where we dubbed him “Bubba” because he was so much larger than any of the other babies in there. I remember our rush to the emergency room when Justin was 6 months old and had his first scare with his milk allergy. And the stitches in his head when he fell on the coffee table. And the stitches near his eye when he was pretending to be blind and walked into the edge of a bookcase. And his surgery where the meds they gave him beforehand made him act drunk. And the rush to the hospital when he had his first asthma attack. Dr. Didea talked us through it all, even if he couldn’t be there to do the fixing himself.

And I remember Nathan’s uneventful birth. Three hours and done. No scary NICU or anything. It was smooth sailing. And I remember how Justin loved him when we brought him home. When we finally moved Nathan into Justin’s room once Nathan was sleeping through the night, every little noise he made had Justin yelling for us: “Nathan’s crying! Nathan’s crying!” Then there was the staples for Nathan after Justin threw a broken piece of asphalt in the air and it landed on Nathan’s head. Back to see Dr. Didea.

The boys have always shared a room, but not always happily. I have stuck to my guns on this issue because I believed it would make them better friends, better people, better roommates, better spouses. Do they still argue? Absolutely. Do they drive each other crazy? You bet. But who is the first one they look for when they want to show someone something cool they’ve discovered? Their brother.

It is my fervent desire that they be the best of friends as they grow up. They are two very different personalities: Justin is into guns; Nathan loves swords and knives. Justin is a go-getter, seemingly not afraid of anything; Nathan hangs back a bit to see how things play out. Justin is driven; Nathan is laid back. Nothing wrong with either of those personalities and they both have much they can offer each other. As they mature, I see them respecting each other more. That is a wonderful thing.

They are brothers; I pray they become best friends.

 

 

 

Thankful today for:

123. a good report

124. teaching poetry writing to 2nd graders

125. bananas