“I was surprised, as always, at how easy the act of leaving was, and how good it felt. The world was suddenly rich with possibility.”
Jack Kerouac
Driving through the Smoky Mountains
Me: “When are we ever going to get to do something like this again? This is so gorgeous.”
Isaac, from the backseat: “I don’t think I want to do something like this again.”
Our biggest (only) accomplishments today are:
1. Progressing into the Central Time Zone
2. Listening to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
3. Completed our first audiobook of the trip, “The Magician’s Nephew.”
4. Crossing from North Carolina to Tennessee
We stopped for something cool to drink at Market Square in Knoxville, TN, at the recommendation of my friend Jennifer. The kids had fun throwing rocks in a waterfall and getting soaked in splash fountains, but then Eloise hit some kid and screamed, and Isaac roared at a little girl. Sorry, Knoxville. Just…sorry.
Between Knoxville and Nashville, we pulled over in the middle of nowhere twice for roadside waste management emergencies. And at the pool tonight I (successfully!) dealt with my second kid turd situation without the convenience of a nearby toilet of the day. OF THE DAY.
Here’s something I like about moving: moving, like wartime, forces you to be resourceful and overcome unusual obstacles, and afterwards you’re like “I CAN DO ANYTHING!” There’s (car snack) rationing, making do with less, helping others, and working together, but without having to go overseas and get shot at by Germans.
But we do have a long way left to go and really, anything could happen.
Hatsumode Tokyo—Happy New Year!!
In Which I Drone On About My Tiny (4-Mo.!!!) Baby
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Unexplained Pause