12/19/22 (#3)

as I mentioned in an earlier post today, we recently were traveling to see my cousin graduate with her master’s degree. the trek involved a five hour drive both ways – we went up Saturday and came back Sunday, so a huge portion of my weekend was spent in the car with my mom, dad, and younger brother.

honestly, we haven’t taken a road trip like that together in YEARS. and it was very pleasant to spend that amount of time together and some things just never change – I still sit behind my dad who drives, and my brother sits behind my mom in the passenger seat. we stopped at a McDonald’s in the middle of nowhere on the way there, and we stopped at a Buccee’s gas station on the way back. it was a lot of uninterrupted time together and it was nice getting to talk, and nap, and read. my dad still holds my mom’s hand while he drives, and my brother still falls asleep before we even make it to the highway.

when we had about 2.5 hours left of the drive last night, my parents decided they wanted to sit in the back and rest and have us drive. my mom is the WORST backseat driver of all time so I decided to let my brother drive. what’s also funny is she gets carsick so easily, so I don’t know what compelled her to sit in the back – she was nervous and also queasy the whole way back LOL. my poor brother’s hands were sweating because he was so stressed by my mom and her stress. but, we made it safely both there and back, and that’s all the matters. all in all, it was a great way to spend my weekend. I needed that amount of family time.

things I am grateful for: clean gas station bathrooms; McDonald’s in the middle of nowhere; and beef jerky snacks.