1237 Miles, 58 Hours

A goofy moment during his senior photo session 

Last Thursday, Nathan and I left on a whirlwind road trip to Samford University for his piano audition. He's already been accepted to the university, and we'll find out soon if he's accepted into the School of the Arts. Then, we wait some more to learn if he is accepted into the honors college. AND a little longer to learn about scholarships. Applying to music school is NOT for the faint of heart!

This particular road trip, traveling 1237 miles in 58 hours, meant we spent most of our time in the car. We talked about so many different things: Did you and dad have a "song" when you were dating? (No.) Do you think Joe Pa should have been fired? (Yes, No, Maybe? I need more info.)

Being a mom, I noticed some other things... and reminisced a bit as well.

Shortly after we left, Nathan fell asleep in the seat beside me. Some copilot! I remembered the four month old baby he once was. For some reason, one short ride home from the grandparents' house, he decided he'd had enough of carseats! He screamed and screamed. Puzzled, and worried, we pulled off the road trying to figure out what was wrong. I remember crying the rest of the trip home, so worried for my baby.

Fast forward two years to our move two hours south to Delaware, Ohio. Rob had to stay behind and finish his medical residency, but Nathan and I moved when our house became available. We left late in the evening, figuring he'd sleep on the drive. No way! Even though we set out about 10:00 p.m., Nathan jabbered away in his carseat, waved to every trucker and sang at the top of his lungs. Arriving at the new house, I unpacked his pack-n-play and my air mattress and set us up for the night. Wearily, I tucked him in and collapsed into my bed. He jabbered more. And more and more. Finally, I told him he could talk all night if he wanted, but I was going to sleep!

Moving to North Carolina a few years later, we made many trips between Ohio and NC while we waited for the house to sell. Nathan knew how to entertain us on those drives. He read books to his little brother and helped me keep him fed. We played hilarious games like "roller coaster," where he'd pretend the West Virginia mountain highway was a roller coaster and would lean left or right as we "flew" down the hills. He'd even say clackety-clack as we chugged uphill. Ben followed his lead and then they'd crack up.

How funny to see my man-boy all these years later, closing his eyes in slumber on a drive. I won't soon forget, perhaps never, our "skittles challenge," guessing the flavor of each skittle before eating it in the dark. I know every time I look at the moon hanging low and heavy on the horizon that I'll watch for it to float high and shrink away in the sky and remember a silly conversation (I'd share it here, but I'm sure it will be lost in translation). I'm confident that I'll spend the rest of my life avoiding the reflectors that separate the lanes on long drives.

We got home late Saturday night. Before Nathan headed off to bed, he wrapped me in a big man-boy hug and said, "Thanks for a fun trip, Mom." All I could think was, "No. Thank you."