Tuesday, November 14, 2006

I'm Baaaack...

Now the intrigue, such as it is, can be revealed...

First off, let me say there was never supposed to be any intrigue about the Washington, D.C. trip. Originally, the post stated exactly where and why we were going. In fact, a few of you may have read the original post, as it was up for a few hours. But then Bubba came along and read it, and got all worried and so I changed it.

The whole reason for the trip was that a dear, dear friend of ours - from our college days - was turning 40. And his wife was throwing a surprise party* for him, to which we were invited.

On the surface, it seems crazy to drive all that way (it turned out to be about 25 hours of travel time when all was said and done) for a party that is going to last three, maybe four hours tops, right?

And I acknowledge that yes, yes it does seem crazy. But my thinking was this: I've gotten to the age** where my friends are scattered all over the country. And with the exception of weddings, and funerals, we tend not to see these friends. Oh, we have good intentions, I'm sure all of us do. But it seems like we ever only really make the effort for weddings and funerals. And, again at my age, most of my friends are done with the former and hopefully we're all a good ways away from the latter. Hence the car trip.
(We decided on a car trip, because this time around we had a bit of time to take it - but not much money. Yes, there are fairly cheap plane tickets from ATL-DC. However, cheap tickets multiplied by three = suddenly not as cheap anymore!)

Honestly - it was a long trip. Particularly Sunday, where we literally got in the car at 7:30 in the morning, and spent all day there, arriving back home after 8 in the evening (this includes stopping for meals, gasoline, etc.)

Fortunately, my boy, Schecky, wins the award for best traveler in the whole wide world. Not once did he ask "Are we there yet", "How much longer?" or any of the pesky things I did when I was a kid in the for much shorter stretches of time. Particularly, when you realize there was nothing in it for him - he spent all that time in the car, and what did he get to do? Go out for appetizers at a restaurant with a few boring grownups he didn't know, and then on to a party full of boring old grownups - virtually none of whom he knew. Schecky, you're a champ!

But even with it being a long trip, and even though I think Bubba and I are still exhausted from it - it. was. so. very. worth. it.

I worry that sometimes I (and I don't know, maybe we all do) get so caught up in my own thing - my life, and all the minutiae that entails - that I don't always make the effort that I should to connect with the people in my life who mean so much to me, and who add so much to it.

So, was 25 hours on the road worth the few hours of face time to connect with a smattering of old friends? You better believe it. It was a fabulous time, and I got to spend time with not one, but two of my best friends from college. And I got to spend a lot of good talking time in the car with my two favorite people in the world.

And when you look at it that way - can you think of a better way to spend a weekend???

*And that word "surprise" was the reason for the unintended mysterious editing of the post. For some reason, Bubba decided to sit down and get caught up on the blog -which is odd, because he almost never reads it unless I ask him to proof something to make sure I'm not being too illiterate. Or too bitchy.
(So that's something to consider - whenever you read BadFortuneCookie, and I am coming across as either illiterate, or bitchy, or both - the post has probably been edited already to tone those elements down. How scary is that????)

Anyhow - long story longer: Bubba read that I said that we were going up to DC for a surprise party for a friend, and he got all worried that our friend would somehow see the post and the surprise would be ruined. Never mind that there are exactly three people who actually know me in real life who read BadFortuneCookie, and not one of them exists in a sphere that would ever overlap with the birthday boy's. Nope, there was no way that blog post was going to ruin the surprise - but I just decided not to argue about it, and edited it instead. I figure it didn't pay to pick a fight with a man I was going to be stuck in the car with for a really long time. Not when I wanted him to do most of the driving, anyways!

**38, for those of you who track such things....


Anonymous said...

Good to have you back! I love DC! But that drive can be a haul. We've made it several times with everyone in tow. Although I definitely do enjoy road trips and getting all that chat time in. Glad you had a good time!

autum said...

I'm glad you had a wonderful time, but I was really hoping you were on some secret mission to straighten out those folks in DC.

Katkat said...

I live about 45 mins from DC. It's fun. Glad you had a good time.

beki said...

You are so right about making those physical connections with the people we love. So often when we are invited to things my antisocial self doesn't want to make the effort, but I make myself and I usually enjoy it. Now I need to work on doing the inviting, but that's tough. It's so much easier to stay in our own little world.

Anonymous said...

Glad that you are back & that you had a good time. I know how you feel about connecting with people. It is important but also not as easy as we would like. Good for you guys for making the effort! Also good for Schecky for being such a trooper!

bekka said...

i'm so glad you had a great time. and i totally relate to the "time is short, spend it with friends" theme of your post. like you, all my close friends are scattered across the world. i try to take every opportunity i can to reconnect with them. so glad you're back. any fun car games? i mean, how DID you amuse yourselves for those 25 hours?

laeroport said...

We have virtually the same post titles today.

We only spent 14 hours in the car and it was for a funeral, but I am so glad that we took our road trip this weekend, too. And I know what you mean about being that age where all your friends are scattered... but most of mine I need a passport to visit. Sigh.

Glad you're back.

capello said...

i'll trade ya kids. really, i will. honest.

Rohanknitter said...

Sounds grueling, but sometimes it's those crazy roadtrip-type trips that can make the best memories.
(and we thought we were crazy to drive 4 1/2 hours one way to Louisville for one night) ; )