driving versus arriving

I am thinking tonight of that first night I spent on the road, heading to Texas. The drive that day was wonderful. No stress or fatigue. Just the excitement of getting a mile closer to my wife every minute.

She called me around 6 or 7 to check on my progress. I was somewhere in Oklahoma, deciding that I would drive farther than expected. The progress I made that day, along with the news that I would be able to see Colleen Friday night, caused me to make the decision to turn a three-day trip into two days.

It meant that instead of spending the evening in the Dallas area with old friends, I would end up driving through Dallas in the A.M. and arriving in San Antonio at 3.

There was that moment on Thursday night though, where GPs took me off the interstate and onto a 60mph road. I told myself that I would stop at the next Days Inn I saw. Then I saw one and passed it. I was too excited. I passed two Days Inns, listening to David Sedaris audiobooks, thinking about how every mile driven at night is one less to drive in the morning. One mile closer to a new home, my wife, the new life we have started.

And now it's been three weeks. Our new life involves a lot of cooking and eating. Our amazing chemistry in the kitchen seems to mirror our life together. Planning meals, preparing, completing them. Still, though, the eating is never as fun as the cooking. And maybe it's because that's where we are right now. We are cooking, preparing, working on some great meal not yet fully enjoyed. Still in training.

Don't get me wrong, the meals are delicious. We are excellent cooks. But the meals might not taste as good as when we make them in our own home, eat them on our own dishes, then digest them in our own living room.

The excitement that kept me going that first night of driving has not gone away. Every day is more exciting. We're still working towards some destination, but, you know, I love road trips.