There and Back Again sums it up, I suppose. I loaded the car with the HA and MBW and made the trek from San Antonio to Lincoln. Out of deference to my passengers, each way was divided into two stages of about seven hours each, with Oklahoma City as roughly the midway point. The first day ended in Norman, where we got to see the University of Oklahoma campus at night, decked out for Christmas.
Then we pushed on into the Midwest. One of these days I need to stop in Abilene. The Dwight D. Eisenhower presidential library is right there, just yards of the road. A modest-looking edifice, which I suppose fits the man. There was a lot of straight-line driving, through shorn, brown fields, like driving across the stubbly, unshaven face of the Earth itself. It’s a drive that allows plenty of time to think.
Eventually we arrived at the house of my sister and brother-in-law. Enjoying a Thanksgiving with more than immediate family is something I do appreciate, having spent more than a few either alone or with acquaintances to whom I’m not related. I did try to restrain myself, so I don’t believe I’ve come home bearing any pounds I didn’t depart with.
The trip home reminded me of one of the reasons I like Texas. The first four hours were a challenge, with icy roads, blowing snow, and howling winds. It wouldn’t have been quite such a white-knuckler had we been taking my car, as intended, with its all-wheel-drive. However, only a few days earlier, someone decided the rear end of my vehicle had mortally offended him somehow, and sucker-punched it with his own car. It is currently in the shop, with over $2,500 in damages to repair. (Happily I am not on the hook for the deductible, as the innocent party.) Hence, a rather sluggish initial pace and more than a few moments of slipping and sliding. Always good fun.
But, here we are, back at Casa Lizzi. And I, for one, am thankful. Despite a recent setback that has had me in a bit of a foul mood for the last couple of months, I am truly thankful for what I have, what I have achieved by my own efforts, and what I enjoy due entirely to the whims of fortune or the good will of others. I will try to maintain that attitude, even with Turkey Day receding in rearview mirror of the year.
I hope you, dear reader, had reasons to be thankful. And, since we’re on the subject of a holiday, another one is coming right up. Literature makes for fine presents. Hint, hint. Or just get something for yourself. You deserve it.