Westward Ho! Day 1: Hittin' the Road

I had a hard time staying in bed this morning. After getting up at around 5:00 a.m. to use the bathroom, I layed in bed for fifteen minutes before deciding that it wasn't going to happen--I wasn't going back to sleep. Although there are still a few things to do, most of the packing, prepping and planning had been done. Only small things were left to be accomplished before leaving: sending out a few resumes, packing up the laptop, printing out some curriculum materials (for Woodsong by Gary Paulsen)in anticipation of the new school year, and finally, taking our dog to the kennel.

I have mixed emotions about crating Gracie for two weeks. Like a child, I wonder if she'll rememeber us when we return. Anne assures me that she will. As if to assure me, she reminds me that the last time we took a family trip to Wyoming, her old dog, who had been living with her brother there for nearly two years, "remembered" she and her son after so much time. I try to think of the two weeks as a vacation for Gracie, too. Were it not for the fact that we would be preoccupied with the run, I imagine we would have brought her with us. Gracie has been hiking and travelling before, and come through wonderfully.

I also will not see my children for two weeks, a time which seems awfully long to me. There was little fanfare on either part when we said our "goodbyes" two days ago, and I will do my best not to let me sadness interefere with the trip. Both kids have much to keep them busy, and when we do return, my daughter will have finished her summer class (accelerated Math) and be trying out for the junior varsity soccer team, and my son will have finished playing for the town's Little League baseball team in a regional tournement (the championship game of which I miss seeing by about two hours) and getting ready for school. I am proud that both are actually looking forward to classses beginning, and for all the right reaons. Time sure does fly...

We will be leaving the Flour City sometime around noon and driving on until 7:00 p.m., stopping somewhere in Indiana. The Prius will be loaded soon, gassed up, siutcases stuffed, the radio tuned... and we'll be off!

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!