This afternoon I realized what a cocoon I’ve been living in over the past few weeks. I was getting a haircut today and at the salon Christmas music was playing. Christmas?? Oh yes, I guess it is December, isn’t it? Somehow in the midst of all that I’ve been doing, working on, etc. all the holiday stuff hadn’t registered with me until today. Christmas is in two weeks. How did that happen? So I am running out of time to get into the Christmas spirit. I’m sure it will hit any time now.
Tonight I returned late from picking up Jared from work. I hadn’t written more than a few lines on this blog before I was summoned early–apparently he was getting off at 10 instead of 11. When I arrived, “early” turned into the regular time. I sat and waited in the parking lot for 45 minutes or so, listening to my latest audiobook and nodding off periodically. When he finally came to the car, apologetic at having gotten held up by a steady stream of customers, there wasn’t any reason to be irritated. But I was irritated. I was tired and didn’t feel like driving the 12.3 miles home. All of that was irrelevant, of course, I had to drive the 12.3 miles home. We rode in silence, which was unusual for us–usually Jared puts on some “night time driving music,” some play list of jazz or other mood music. But tonight, we were each with our own thoughts–mine mostly of driving, though I did think about the theme for tonight’s blog.
Now at 11:33 p.m. I think that if there was a theme it has perhaps evaporated into the mists of a tired mind. As I was driving home I did realize how grateful I am that I’ve been able to drive these thousands of miles since July without mishaps or close calls or speeding tickets (not that I speed). There have been plenty of nights when my eyes have been so tired they hurt and I’ve squinted the whole way there and back. The travel angels ride with me each day and watch over me particularly on the nighttime leg of the trip. I am grateful for that. It shouldn’t be too much longer that I’ll do all this driving, and I won’t pretend that I won’t be immensely relieved to no longer be doing that particular commute. But I’ve learned and grown in a number of ways over these months, and driving with my son over these months has been part of that.
Tonight’s blog definitely won’t be my most articulate, but then you’ll have this from time to time. I’ll promise to start earlier tomorrow so as not to push my midnight deadline. Thanks for sticking with me even when the words come out all jumbled. For that I remain humbly grateful.
