I Wish You Were Here

 We took a four week road trip back to the midwest.  2 adults, 2 kids and 1 dog in a Prius. When we told people this, they said Why?!  They thought we were crazy.  We just wanted to get in the car and drive out of LA, no schedule, no plans, no trying to make it all work out here.  Plus, I was going to meet my birth family.  Everyone was so flexible as we played this journey by ear.  We took route 66 out there and stared out the window and played car games with the kids. We stopped and gazed at the Grand Canyon, beautiful sunsets and we ate a LOT of ice cream.  We saw old friends and family, made new friends and family, and I missed Peggy.

  The Midwest is where Peggy is supposed to be, not lying in some bed in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California.  We should of been visiting her in Glen Ellyn, IL but we are not.  We are visiting the places she was, where she was the Peggy that played tennis, and volunteered at the hospital and shopped at the health food store, and the Peggy that was my Mom.  This trip made me see her there, and she would of loved to have us come visit and see Allen and the girls.  I cried, but it felt kinda good crying, it felt good missing her, both with and without her Alzheimer's.  Reflecting on my life was a huge part of this road trip for me, and maybe that's part of the why we did this.  I needed to remember her there, so I can take care of her here.

Reflecting Sunset