Colorado alone with four kids!

Sunday a week ago I took off on the longest road trip to date with all four of my kids.  We pulled out of the driveway at 3:30 a.m. with our sights set on Manitou Springs, Colorado and arrived by late afternoon. We checked into our hotel and headed out on an adventure to find some dinner. 

The town was charming. Colorado Springs may surround it, but they are as different as Paris, Texas and Paris, France.  Manitou Springs actually reminded me my days in Europe. Every storefront tells a story and seemingly invites you in.  Places like Manitou are special and unforgettable. 

Denver was our home away from home.  My oldest daughter played softball, but we still had time for fun…the most fun perhaps being the cooler weather and the mountains. 

After a few days though, I missed my husband. I missed my dogs. I even missed my house, but managed to block it all out and cherish the time away with my crew.  I may never have all four of them to myself again for an entire week, so I loved it while it lasted!

And then…the voyage home.  It was treacherous.  When we reached Amarillo, we voted to make it to Dallas.  (I would not recommend this to anyone who does not love coffee and have a strong bladder.) 

I drove and drove.  I prayed and prayed.  Just like Motel 6, the Monicos, my in laws,  left the light on for us until 3:30 in the morning.

Today on the last leg of our trip, I journeyed down memory lane back to when my kids were little.  I was outnumbered then too, but overwhelmingly determined to get out.   Loading up the Suburban and getting them all buckled in was a beating! I needed a serious nap by the time I got us all ready.  However, I poured myself a cup of coffee and hit the road.

Dallas seemed so far back then. I mastered the art of driving with one hand and somehow reached back with my other arm to feed a baby or to plug a mouth with a pacifier.  (No wonder I now frequent the chiropractor.) 

It was only 90 miles away, but seemed like eternity.   Standard procedure was a fresh diaper or trip to the potty before we left our house.  I recall one horrific trip into the McDonald’s bathroom in Ennis. I was the guilty party.  I held Blaise in my arms and used the restroom.  Banner was in the stall with us. She probably had to button my pants.   I have no clue what I did with the boys, but we made it. 

Today was different though.  That is what hit me!  Dallas to Fairfield was the easiest drive in the world.   The distance has not changed, but my view of the drive has changed over the past 12 years since I first drove it with my tribe.  My circumstances have changed, not the distance.  My tribe grew up! 

Sometimes though we cannot change our circumstances, and then life is really all about perspective. My favorite book to read and reread in the summer is “One Thousand Gifts” by Ann Voskamp.  She writes “The practice of giving thanks…eucharisteo…this is the way we practice the presence of God, stay present to His presence, and it is always a practice of the eyes.  We don’t have to change what we see. Only the way we see.” 

I shed a few tears this week over the majesty of the mountains in Colorado.  Pike’s Peak seems to reach the heavens, but you cannot stay up there forever. Likewise, ups and downs in life are inevitable.   The key is the way we see the mountains and valleys.  Choose this week to see them both as a blessing!