Bear With Me

When my girls were little we always tried to take at least one vacation in the summer.  We were not wealthy and so those trips usually were little more than long weekends.  We'd visit some historic site in another state and gawk at stuff we'd never seen before.  Picnics at the side of the road.  Trying to get the  little ladies to be comfortable peeing outside when we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere.  (Lost cause by the way)  Always stayed in a motel with a pool.  Heated indoor was the Dad's first choice and usually well beyond our budget; but outdoors in a sunny spot was fine with me.

Anyway, these trips were made years before GPS or Expedia reservations.  He'd drive and I'd navigate.  When we got near where we were going I'd open our travel guide to the Economy Motel pages and pick one.  This could be a fairly long process and always, ALWAYS, the radio was ononon.  No DVDs playing and no ipods plugged in.  Conversation, watching out the windows, and singing were the ways we entertained the children.  I loved it. On one memorable trip this little girl virtually came along with us:

"I Wanna Dance With Somebody" was a big hit that summer and our primitive car radio would pick up that song on practically every station we tuned in.  I loved it.  The girls would bounce and sing along.  Grownups too, til the girls screamed and begged us to shut up.  Like I said, I loved it.  That song kind of became the theme of that trip and even now when I hear it I picture my beautiful babies paddling around in a Wisconsin pool.

And now that singing girl is gone.  I'm pissed off by the waste.  I'm pissed off by the stupidity.  I feel bad for her family and I especially feel bad for her child. 

My girls are all grown up.  I'm glad that one other little girl kind of sort of came on that one vacation with us.  It meant a lot to me and THAT's the girl I will miss.  I hope she finally has some peace.

"I've done alright up til now"   Indeed.