The Wheels on the Bus

Well, the wheels on my bus went "round and round" this weekend, all the way to Meridian, Mississippi.  Saturday morning, Laney and I drove the entire 550 mile trip in a very quick 8.5 hours.  The weather was nice, she was great in the car, the traffic was light, all in all it was a good trip.  We landed down in Meridian about 5 pm.  What is there you ask?  Not sure (click the link it for some history).  What did I see while I was there?  The Super 8 and Cracker Barrel and two of my favorite people: my parents. 

The last 4 years or so Laney has spent several weeks of her summer with Grandma and Grandpa at their house in VA.  She helps in the garden, visits cousins, picks all the wild berries, helps can food, chases goats, chickens, dogs, cats, horses, and whatever other animals that might be on the farm at the time, and attends the annual family reunion.  She has a great time playing with cousins Madison, Christian and Morgan and her her distant cousins.  She visits people I visited when I was a kid, and even gets to visit Momaw Betty (great-grandma) and Momaw Louise (another great-grandma).  She loves it, they love it, and I love it.  BUT, I miss her.  A LOT.

Arlin and I try to go on a couple's trip when she is gone, or at least have a lot of date nights.  I don't think that is going to work out the same now that we have Lindsay too.  Lindsay, being too young to gallivant to unknown parts of VA for an extended period, stayed here with us this year.  While my parents and I were willing, there is no way the car ride would have left any of us sane after traveling with a small girl who loathes her car seat.  And it's hard to let her go when I won't be able to watch over her as well from this far away.  At least I can talk with Laney on the phone in sentences and get a good idea of what is going on.  No such with Lindsay.

So Sunday I drove the 8.5 hours, 550 miles back home with an empty backseat, and dead silence except for my thoughts and the radio, and it struck me how much I missed her already.  I'm excited for this time for her this summer.  And I know how wonderful it is, because I spent a month of my summer at my grandparents, with my cousins while growing up and I LOVED it.  But, it doesn't mean I won't be counting down the days until I see my Laney again.