Are we there yet?

.
In Those Days we lived along the "Right Side." The part of our country made famous during the settlement of early America. In the lands where Americans died in battle during the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

And we had an early 60's vintage Chevrolet station wagon that could seat our family of seven fairly comfortably in the three rows of clear plastic covered seats. It was then that Mom decided to return to her birthplace on the "Left Side" for a visit with her mother and sisters who lived near San Francisco.

Although there was no global warming then, and Al Gore had not yet made millions scaring the heck out of us with his fabrication of an Inconvenient Truth, it was still pretty darn hot that summer. There was no air conditioning then, no movies playing in the headrests, no wireless telephones, no car seats, no slurpies at the gas stations, and no refrigerators with cold sodas in our car. The windows were kept down all day long and canvas water bags were hung on the bumper to provide a cool drink.

So with the luggage and ice chest strapped to the roof rack, which was in turn strapped to the rooftop, and the rear seats folded down to make a common area for the little ones, and the baby nestled between Mom and I on the front bench seat, we set out for the left coast.

Mom drove as long as she could before pulling of the road to nap. She slept sitting up behind the steering wheel as I watched over my siblings. 2800 miles in three days she drove. Few roadside rests and our only stops were to pee in the bushes, for gas, or to get fresh stuff for the sandwiches we made along the way. No motels. No cafes. No sightseeing stops.

We drove and sang songs when the radio lost the stations. We colored and argued amongst ourselves. We asked Mom over and over, "How much longer will it be?" Or, "Are we there yet?" every time she would pull off the highway, usually just to get gas. It was a struggle. For everyone.

But we made it. And Mom announced, "we're here!" And our struggles seemed to have made our trip that much more enjoyable because we wre there. And so it is with life in general. And many before me have attested that one must suffer to achieve salvation. So true. How can you appreciate anything when everything you have has been given to you?

No pain. No gain.
.