Road Trip

I am going on a road trip with my Mom next week. We will be traveling to Ohio, and stopping in SC, NC, and VA on the way. My father is buried in SC, and I have cousins in NC. We are visiting one of my Mom's best friends in VA, and we will spend several days there. I'm looking forward to spending some time in D.C. during this part of the trip. My Mom and Dad met in D.C., and my brother and I were born there, well I was born in Maryland. I am looking forward to my Mom showing me the places that we significant to her and my Dad when they lived there. After spending time there we are heading to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Ohio and spending a few days there, then heading home.

I am looking forward to spending this time with my Mom. We only live about 90 minutes away from each other, but sometimes it seems like it might as well be another state.

Mom took my brother and me on many road trips when we were growing up. We would go visit my Grandmother in SC at least a couple of times a year - always on Christmas. I remember that Mom would tell my Grandmother to be expecting us around a certain time (this was all before cell phones), and we'd always get a late start, and we'd always be speeding to get to Grandmommy's house close to the time we said so she wouldn't worry. Mom never got a speeding ticket during all these high-speed quests to get to Grandmommy's.

My Grandmother died when I was 14, and we, of course, got a late start to get to her funeral, and Mom finally got a speeding ticket on our way to SC. We laughed about it saying that Grandmommy must have had something to do with it, now that she was in heaven and could see how Mom had driven all those times to her house. That doesn't seem so funny now, but with the grief we were experiencing at the loss of such a special person in our lives, I guess we were looking for anything to smile about.

I remember always wanting to be the first one to the door to greet Grandmommy once we arrived at her house. She had such a loving way about her that always made me feel special. I will always cherish those times we spent at her house, especially the many Christmas mornings.