The Open Road

It's been a while since I've been in the car for more than a few hours. I get pretty antsy when it comes to excruciatingly long car rides. About two hours in, I get this I-have-to-move-right-noooooow kind of feeling, which [of course] is horrible because that's absolutely not happening, no matter how much I complain to Grahm about it. This, coupled with my complete inability to read in a moving vehicle, [I blame my dad's terrible case of motion sickness] causes me to not exactly look forward to long drives.

Usually, I zonk out for as long as possible [only to wake up at our final destination or when I have to pee]. This time around, however, I was Grahm's only other road trip buddy, so I felt some intense pressure to be even more entertaining than I usually am [a tough tough task, my friends].

Our eight-hour adventure turned into a tinsy bit longer because Oklahoma can't seem to get its act together regarding construction. There have been days when I thought about grabbing a hammer and reporting for duty. Surely, I can make this go just a tad faster.

Once we trudged through Oklahoma, we were well on our way to the land of Texas. Many many hours of scream singing, word games, eating ridiculous amounts of sugar, and long discussions on the OT/sin, we finally arrived in San Antonio. We got to see his wonderful family there. It was nice to relax and get to know them better. It's funny how certain things about a person completely make sense when you're around his family for a while. I wish we could have stayed longer.

The best part of traveling [besides going someplace new and being in the company of a good-looking boy] is being able to have yourself a big, fat reality check. Driving down the open road, we saw tons and tons and tons of cars. All those vehicles were going somewhere. All of them had people inside. People who were on vacation. People coming home from work. People on their way to see a loved one. People just getting out of a divorce. People who are depressed, lonely, and sad. People who need love.

I like to think about all the unknown faces, the story of their lives. I like to wonder where they're going and why they're headed that way. It's a good reminder that "Hey wow. The world doesn't actually revolve around Jena Marie Carper." Other people exist.

There are people all over this world, coming and going. Living and dying. We all have a story. We all are important to our Creator, because He shows no partiality. He cares for every one of us. I need these reminders a lot.

[He wasn't aware that I was recording him ;)]