IT NEVER FAILS

IT NEVER FAILS

I wanna go home

*/\*/\*/\*/\*

Oh joy! We’re going to leave in the morning. I wanted to jump for joy! We’re going on a very long needed vacation. We’re going north to spend time with our children and their families.

I was so excited, I called my friend, Penny. “I can hardly wait.”

“So, where are you going? You never mentioned plans.”

“We really didn’t make any. It’s a spur-of-the-moment thing. We just decided to take ten days and drive up north to see our kids and their families. We’ll stop in North Carolina on the way there, then in South Carolina on the way back home. We haven’t been to the kids’ homes in a year and decided, it’s time.”

“I’m really happy for you both. It’s been a while since you went anywhere. You’ve struggled with health issues, car repairs, and the lord only knows what else. Good for you! Drive carefully and keep in touch. We’ll keep an eye on the house.”

“Thanks so much. I’ve got to go and finish packing. I’ll call you.”

Going north can be exciting and worrisome. What do we pack? What’s the weather going to be like? We’ll have sunny days, but there’s always a possibility of rain. The nights are usually cool, too, but how cool? I don’t want to over-pack but then, again, I don’t want to leave anything out that I won’t know I’ll need until I get there. What a conundrum! I go through this routine anytime we go anywhere!

After I filled our suitcases, I emptied them and reviewed what I just dumped on the bed. My husband stood at the bedroom doorway, “What on earth are you doing? Didn’t you just pack everything?”

“Yes, but I want to go over everything one more time.”

He shook his head and laughed at me. “Hon, no matter where we stop, if we have forgotten anything, we can get to a store. We’ll be in North Carolina for two days, then with the kids for over a week, then South Carolina for two days. Trust me. We’ll be fine.”

As he turned to leave the bedroom, I sorted, refolded, and repacked our suitcases, making sure to put a clean garbage bag in each one. Why, you’re probably asking. When we change clothes, I don’t want to put our soiled clothes in with our clean ones. This is a habit I’d adopted too many years ago to remember when I first started making long trips.

Before we went to bed, we loaded the car with our suitcases, and the totes we needed for our incidentals, as well as any medical supplies we needed daily. Let’s face it. We’re not young anymore, and with our medications and other paraphernalia, we always need that extra tote.

We set the alarm and were in bed by ten pm. Unfortunately, the anticipation of the long drive and the excitement of seeing our kids and their families had me tossing and turning all night. (I could have sung that song easily, enough.)

Anyway, When the alarm clanged at five the next morning, I was just about ready to roll over for a fifteen-minute snooze.

Nope! Not happening.

“Come on, hon, get up! We’re burning daylight. I want to get an early start.”

I opened my eyes and looked in the direction of the window. “Daylight? The sun isn’t even awake yet. There’s nothing to burn.”

He laughed and said, "Come on, you can doze in the car.” We always took turns driving. He’d take the first stretch of road, then I’d drive, and we’d continue this until we got to our destination.

I dragged my weary bones out of bed, showered, brushed my teeth, and dressed. While I took care of me, my husband made the bed, poured two cups of coffee in our go-cups, and then we were out the door!

As we drove away from our house, I looked back, and the sight saddened me. I know how crazy that sounds. We weren’t even five minutes into our trip, and I already missed the peacefulness and comfort of my home, my bed, my shower.

No, I didn’t tell my husband how I felt.

I closed my eyes and tried to catch that fifteen-minute snooze I missed less than an hour ago. As the sun began to peek over the horizon, I found sleep was no longer an option.

I opened my book and began to read and while my brain got sucked into the drama of my story, hours ticked by.

“Are you hungry? I’m thinking that I really want some food. How about you?”

“Actually, that sounds good.”

With so many restaurants and diners on the road, finding one was easy. Deciding on what our appetites were calling for, wasn’t. We ended up at the good, old, reliable iHop and enjoyed a delicious breakfast of pancakes and sausage, accompanied by a steaming hot cup of coffee.

Back on the road, it was my turn to drive. For a while, having to concentrate on the driving, road conditions, and other traffic, took my mind off my house.

The next two days seemed to fly by. During our stay at the hotel, we had plenty of things to do to keep my mind occupied. As I said, the days were fine. The nights were more difficult.

It never fails. In all the years we’ve been together, all the great places where we traveled, and as often as we’ve spent time with our kids and their families, enjoying every second spent with them, as soon as my head would hit the pillow, my brain would scream, “I wanna go home”.

Home where my own TV waits to be turned back on, home where my own coffee machine sits idly, home where my own bed and pillow wait for my weary old body to rest in complete comfort.

Home, were everything is normal and where I find my peace of mind.

Ah! Home.