We had the guys and Lindsay over for birthday dinner last night. It is sort of a tradition to pick your favorite meal on your birthday. Jesse chose chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and gravy. We finished up with brownies and ice cream. Just for your information, birthday candles come in packs of 24, which is not good when you need 25. After dinner we played a board game. There was lots of fun and laughter. We gave her some high-heels, a Harley T-shirt, and a motorcycle jacket. Jan gave her an art book. She got a “Top Gun” movie from Adam and a “Top Gun” sound track from Kat along with an airplane pin. Do you think her friends know her pretty well? It was a good birthday.
The Trip
While commenting on Buck’s blog this morning, I was reminded of my early days with Toby. Most of you know that Toby and I met during my freshman year at Texas Tech. We ran with the same crowd and started dating in December. Although we talked about marriage, we both had different plans for the summer. He wanted to go to South Texas and I was headed to Red River as I had every summer of my life. The day before I left, Toby quit his job and said he was coming with me. Boys, you may not know it, but this is called stepping up to the plate and taking a big swing. This was saying, “I want to be with you more than I want to do my own thing.” Girls are rather impressed by such stuff. We married on June 27th at the Community House in RR. My brother stood up with Toby while my cousin, Patti, stood with me.
I loaded up my 63 Chevy truck, Toby drove his 74 Camero, my brother was in the old Bisquane, and my cousin, Patti, drove her old Cougar. We made an interesting caravan to the mountains. It was a good thing we were all together because only Toby had a car that would not fall apart at the least little bump. We drove from Lubbock to RR up through Clovis, San Jon, Logan (Whiskey River Road to Ruin) and up through Springer. It was a wild trip. We took lots of silly pictures out in the middle of No Where NM. We did some things that I won’t share here, but were all in good fun. We got stopped by two NM State troopers (three if you count the one that stopped to help us when we broke down in Cimarron Canyon), but did not get any tickets. We had made that trip several times before, and we made it many times after. It is a whole lot of nothing and one of my most favorite roads. It was the road to RR. It was the road to my marriage. It was the road to see my family. It was the road to see good friends. I just love all of that nothingness. I have so many stories - so many memories on that road.
On Thursday, we will make that trip again after stopping in Lubbock to see Toby’s mom. It will be just me and Toby - no kids, no cousin, no brother. I expect it to be very romantic - and a bit of a new thing for us. Jesse and Lindsay will join us later in RR for our family reunion, but they are coming in their own car up through Amarillo (boring).
Hopefully, I will blog tomorrow, but then we are off like…hmm, like college kids on an adventure.
4 comments:
...Clovis, San Jon, Logan (Whiskey River Road to Ruin) and up through Springer.
The ex-GF and I made that trip several times, too. One of the things I love about NM is the wide variety of topography in the state...this route illustrates that fact perfectly.
Re: boys stepping up. Girls can step up, too. TSMP defied her parents to come out to Montana/North Dakota and spend the summer with me between her junior and senior years in college. I'll never forget the scene in her parent's kitchen the morning we left for Montana...her father gave her an ultimatum to the effect of "if you go I'll cut off your college funds." Her reply? "Fine. I'll figure out a way to finish on my own." The lesson here is not to make threats you won't deliver on... The second lesson (for me) was that was the moment TSMP became her own woman. We had a great summer, too!
Actually, we had that same scene the morning we left for NM with my dad being pretty ugly and threatening and me being defiant. Dad used the same "No more college money..." I married Toby, I finished college on my own, and I later apologized to my parents for the defiance. I never regretted my decisiosns to step up to the plate - I knew Toby was the one for me, but I regretted the anger and the disobedience. It is something that I hope I do differently with Jesse.
Just for your information, birthday candles come in packs of 24, which is not good when you need 25.
I didn't know that. On my 25 th birthday, I was at Naval Training Center, Orlando Florida. I didn't have a cake, or even a party. My parents sent me cards, but other than that, my birthday pretty much went un-noticed. It still pretty much goes un-noticed...
now THAT sounds FUN!
Funny how some roads take to us more than just a topographical destination. Nostalgia is usually a very enjoyable vacation. Have fun MamaLou and Uncle Toby!! The puppy is safe with me.
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