On the Road Again

This weekend I went on a road trip with my Boo Thang and Mother in law. We left promptly at 6:00am with snacks and tea in tote. The sun came up as we approached the highway. A sigh of relief came over me. I was glad to be on the road and on time (I am a sucker for punctuality unlike a friend I know who is notorious for being late, she knows who she is) This was one of the first times I actually enjoyed looking out on the highway, it looked different. The landscape was green for one. It was a sight to be seen. Covered in a green back drop and signs from all sorts of small institutions claiming to be the “Best”.  As our journey began we started discussing interesting topics that included cow tipping and whether the green fields were grapes, corn, or a complete salad.  Our minds wondered as we stared out the windows unto the sparsely populated areas coming to the conclusion we would never live in such places. In these moments I often envisioned myself in a peasant girl outfit picking grapes and milking cows. Throughout the trip I would catch my Boo Thang in moments with a self assured smirk on his face as if his favorite basketball team had just won a championship and he directly influenced this event. I would also catch him in moments that he seemed to look completely worried. So I thought to myself that the self assured smirks and moments of worry cancel each other out, so I moved on back to thinking about milking cows and running through grassy terrains in my peasant girl get up. After dropping off my mother in law and having dinner with my husband’s family which included making one of the younger cousins awkwardly sing a Frank Sinatra song as we snapped our fingers in tune we went to visit my family and welcome my newborn nephew. He was everything you expect a newborn to be, red, squishy,and struggling to make eye contact. As I held him in my arms for the first time I couldn’t help but melt and squeal as us women folk tend to do when we see anything miniature, soft, and squishy. The BBQ began in our honor. So many cousins and children were set loose. My brother was the host, whom many say resemble the Terminator and an Asian guy in one. While this was all going on my husband being good in nature and didn't want to hurt any one's feelings was forced to listen to my brother’s jokes and his workout routine. As the afternoon went on we sat and laughed and ate too much BBQ that my brother prepared ‘well done’ and ‘juicy'.  During this beautiful relaxing afternoon I was bombarded with questions by whom I like to call the Private Investigators (children) that decided to point out all flaws and question me about all subjects of the world.  I had to explain why my head was so large and why a pimple decided to come right in the middle of my eyes that day.  I pretty much laughed it all off but on the inside I wanted to punch that kid in the stomach.  My Boo Thang in the meantime decided to pass gas mid conversation with my Dad thinking no one will notice since it was outside, but that didn’t happen as a Private Investigator was lurking near by and called him on it. He responded by shifting the blame back to the child and made for an awkward moment for all parties involved.  At the end we said our good byes and all the Private Investigators came out to hug me and cry and beg I stay. One in particular thought of himself to be a Michael Jackson impersonator. He nearly cried when I told him teachers stop singing school lessons after the 2^nd grade.  He squeezed me so tight I nearly cried not because it hurt because I knew I would miss him.  We got in to the car and promised to call when we got home. Off we were, back to the highway with the current green backdrop day dreaming of running through corn fields and winning Basketball championships.