This week, I read a post from Nikki Stephan about taking road trips. It came at the perfect time for me. May 6 and 7 I took a road trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana with my sister-in-law for a digital gospel conference at Concordia Theologocal Seminary. Coming back, I had so much to say about the conference that I forgot about the part that was truly meaningful: the time I spent getting to know my sister-in-law on a different level.
Ten years separates my sister-in-law and myself. I’m older. She’s a college student who would like to go on and serve the world, making it better for her nieces and nephew and her future children, and I believe she can do it. I know about her massive amounts of homework, her sorority, her roommates and the movies she enjoys, but spending eight hours in a car with her over the course of 24 hours allowed me to learn more about her. Things I wouldn’t normally have asked about.
I learned that, besides Trolli sour worms, she also loved Gobstoppers. She likes hotel beds because the sheets are tucked in so tight. She could flunk out of college wasting time playing Scrabble and Clue. We talked about our faith, our struggles, our plans for the summer and our expectations for ourselves.
It was such a good time. The entire trip wasn’t serious or filled with talking. We rocked out to Taylor Swift and she played some Words with Friends. We downloaded music on the fly that we love right now.
I have a family, a full-time job and a whole host of “extras” that I do all the time. Unfortunately, those things often keep me from connecting from those around me. This road trip was so refreshing. I was out of my house, only having to worry about feeding myself, and I got to learn about someone else on a new level. I’m pretty sure I should take road trips with everyone in my life, including all of my “frenemies.” Maybe getting in a car for hours with nothing else to do would help us find out common ground. Or someone would die. It’s really not something I can predict, but I’ll tell you this, I’m scrappy!
I know I should do this more often and I have another chance to do it next weekend and I’m insanely excited. I’m heading to Gleek Retreat next weekend and while I was going to go with my husband, he can’t make it and my mom and my daughters will be taking the trip with me. I’m excited for the conference. I’m excited to explore the area. And I’m excited to spend the time with my mom and my girls.
Yay for road trips!
