Good Things Come
Waiting: The line for the coolest roller coaster, the eighth and ninth month prior to giving birth, growing hair long and longer, and the agonizing, interminable car ride home for the holidays. The longer the wait, the sweeter the reward, right?
Just returned from one of those car trips, I haven't forgotten the wait, nor has my backside. Tires ate pavement while we sat, dreaming up hundreds of ways to kill time, squirming, talking, listening to music, longing for hours to be done with. When the kids were little, in our pre-portable-DVD days, I'd read to them til my voice went hoarse while they drew pictures or daydreamed out the window. Now we ration the DVD to allow creative space between movies. In the front seat, in the dark, long past my bedtime and not able to get comfortable, I felt desperate. By that point, around 1:00 a.m., the kids were asleep and my husband and I had talked ourselves out. He was set into highway hypnosis, willing us forward. My legs were jumpy but finally I dozed, only to wake whenever he stepped on the brake. Just when I reached the brink of insanity, our exit appeared in the headlights. It was 4:00 a.m. My husband was catatonic when he turned off the car in my in-law's driveway. We're too old for these all-nighter road trips.
Sleepy in-laws greeted us and helped us get settled. The handful of days we spent together, ten of us in one house plus our St. Bernard, were worth the long drive. Good things come to those who wait.
Just returned from one of those car trips, I haven't forgotten the wait, nor has my backside. Tires ate pavement while we sat, dreaming up hundreds of ways to kill time, squirming, talking, listening to music, longing for hours to be done with. When the kids were little, in our pre-portable-DVD days, I'd read to them til my voice went hoarse while they drew pictures or daydreamed out the window. Now we ration the DVD to allow creative space between movies. In the front seat, in the dark, long past my bedtime and not able to get comfortable, I felt desperate. By that point, around 1:00 a.m., the kids were asleep and my husband and I had talked ourselves out. He was set into highway hypnosis, willing us forward. My legs were jumpy but finally I dozed, only to wake whenever he stepped on the brake. Just when I reached the brink of insanity, our exit appeared in the headlights. It was 4:00 a.m. My husband was catatonic when he turned off the car in my in-law's driveway. We're too old for these all-nighter road trips.
Sleepy in-laws greeted us and helped us get settled. The handful of days we spent together, ten of us in one house plus our St. Bernard, were worth the long drive. Good things come to those who wait.
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