Home

Well, what a whirlwind. I don't know where to start.

On Monday when we got the word that it would be at least tomorrow and that financial issues were starting to rear their ugly head, we made a snap decision and literally went from vacation mode to frantic road trip home mode in a matter of minutes. As quietly as we could, while Mari slept, we started packing the minimum we would need to get us home and by 4pm we were pulling out of the parking lot. Very sad to leave mom and dad, but we knew we'd be together soon and that we'd had a wonderful time (and we'd gotten a bit sick of Amarillo), so we headed out with nothing but a road atlas and some diet coke.
We really just planned on driving until we couldn't drive any more or until the girls' screaming was intolerable. Well, the girls were fine. We drove till 11:30 and stopped in Joplin, MO at a strictly functional hotel, slept fitfully, and hit the road at 7 the next morning.
Finally, at a little after 7 local time, we got into Cincinnati, picked up the dogs, picked up dinner at Skyline and at long last, we were home.
So here we are. And the experience of being home after such a long trip is really freaking me out. It's weird. Weirder than coming home after the last big trip in 2003. Totally weird. Lots of reasons I think:
1) Seeing all the stuff in the house untouched since we left it nearly a month ago, is like coming back to a house after someone has died. Morbid, but true.
2) After being in such close quarters with mom and dad for so long, suddenly being without them is like being an incomplete person.
3) I don't have a trip to plan for, restaurants to suggest, activities and addresses to research.
4) I am dadgum tired.
And more, but I can't process it all now. Basically, glad to be home, but it feels very foreign right now. It'll take time. But what a trip. Now time to start putting the music together for the DVD, getting all the scenes selected...and getting back to real life.
Speaking of which...this blog was originally set up as a trip travelogue, but we will continue to use it as a regular blog - for thoughts about daily life and whatnot - so feel free to keep checking back in - and someday there'll be another trip to read about.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this possible, from Paula who watched the pups, to the friendly employee at the Motherhood Maternity store in Westgate Mall in Amarillo. Until the next trip - I say to all of you - get out and see the world - anything, ANYthing can be a destination. There's something to see and learn about in every town, around every corner. Don't be a travel snob. Enjoy the world. Love life. And one more time...

GOOD JOB, GOD!!!