sunrise

we made it.  we made a split second decision last night to just go ahead and fly the coupe because we were packed and ready.  why even go to bed?

i'm gonna tell you a little somethin'.  traveling at night is way better than traveling during the day.

a.)  you don't have to make stops to eat throughout the day.

b.)  you/the kids are used to not having to go to the bathroom during the night.

c.)  the kids sleep.  (for the most part.)

what would have been a 19 hour drive was only a 15 hour one.  and my sanity remained in tact because i didn't have to turn around, climb over the seat in order to fetch a dropped doll or book or ds or threaten to turn the car around THIS INSTANT if they didn't stop fighting or answer "are we there yet" 84.6 times.

they watch a movie when it gets dark and fall asleep to the credits.

i pop the ole' earphones in and drift into my own world.

and chad drives...with his thoughts to keep him company.

usually, chad doesn't let me drive.  it's something having to do with the way that i like to stay in the left lane ALL THE TIME and vere off onto the bumpy side lane when i change songs on my ipod.  i don't know.  suit yourself is what i say.

but last night, i woke up at 4am to him wiggling all over the place and bouncing up and down, trying to get a second wind.  i barely peeked open my eye...because if he wasn't tired, i certainly didn't want him to ask me to drive.  that's what we southerners call "playin' possum."  not really.  i asked him if he was ok and he said that he was getting tired.

huuuuuuhhhhhhhh.  alright.

we stopped at a gas station so that we could fill up and i could get a red bull and a protein bar.

i took my position in the driver's seat...put on my favorite mix and took us the next 5 hours.

i'm gonna tell you something right now.  i am not a morning person.  i have no problem acting like a 16 year old with friends in a pool until 2am...but when an alarm goes off at 7...you can forget about it.

i'm one of those people that doesn't like to talk in the morning.  i don't want to be talked to either.  i practically stumble to the coffee pot with my eyes closed and my hair all in a disheveled knot.  the kids have learned to just part like the red sea when they see me comin'.

anyhow...the point is...because of that fact...i haven't experienced many sunrises.

but...at 5:37 this morning, i found a new kind of happy.

i knew that the rest of my little family was experiencing something very different from me.  their world was still, and dark, and quiet.  their dreams were accompanied only by the hum of the tires on the road.  but mine?  well my world was something totally different.  and i loved it.  because it was just mine.  at 5:37 am...i looked to my right and saw the skyline turn a faint shade of pink.

and to the glorious sound of bittersweet symphony being played only for me...

through the magic of tiny speakers in my ears...

i watched that pink turn into orange...

and my heart sped up as i caught the first glimpse of her.

at first...i could only see her glowing arch in fast glimpses.  but as the music crescendoed and changed rhythm and played it's own concert in my mind, she showed up and lit my world on fire.

i can't remember seeing a sunrise like this one.  and i know for a fact that i have never appreciated one more than i did this morning.

i always think of myself as someone who has to have people to talk to in order to really be able to celebrate something and to feel fully satisfied.  usually i would start cheering for everyone to wake up and watch the sun rise and not understand why they all weren't as excited as i.

but this morning...

i was silent.  i celebrated alone.

and i was perfectly happy about it.

the sun continued to rise.

the music kept playing.

my family kept sleeping.

i marveled at the land that the sun allowed me to see.  the yellow fields merged into green meadows.  the sky was a light blue backdrop to the white, cotton clouds.

and my road ahead...

well...it was nothing but bright.