Thursday, April 12, 2012

Wish You Were Here

Dear Sad Person,

I don't know where you go when you're 'there', but I do know that we miss you here. 

It's been said that depression is anger in slow motion.  So you must be
really angry.  You must feel like an animal that is backed into a corner; in other
words...you're angry because you're scared.  Someday I hope I can help you understand
the futility of fear.  But for today I can stroke your head, and feed you broth, and let the sunshine warm your shoulders. I can love you unconditionally and wait.  And wait.  But what I can't do is promise you that I will never get frustrated while waiting.  I am frustrated.  Right now.

But more than anything...it's very important for you to know that no matter how bad things are in 'there', wherever there is, things out here are just fine.  It's very safe out here and to be honest...quite lovely.  In fact, life is so lovely and abundant out here, that the only thing that's missing is you.
So,  whenever you're ready and whenever you're able...we're loving you...and waiting.

Sincerely,
The Waiting

 

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Zoom Zoom

1,964 miles, 8 states and 5 days.  These numbers are significant.  These numbers are important.  These numbers mean one thing and one thing only...it's ready.  The road is ready for you. 

Out of the kindness of our hearts and the flatness of our bottoms, the Jarmans have spent the past five days driving mile after mile after mile, through breath-taking scenery and bank-breaking toll booths to bring to you...Road Trip Season 2012!

Now, thanks to our efforts, your windshield will be a safer, cleaner place. Thanks to the fearlessly unflinching windshield on our car, there are at least a thousand less insects out there capable of reproducing and ending up on the windshield of your car.  And you know what they say..."It takes a bug to raise a village.....of larvae."  (er...just go with it, OK?)  And as for the bugs that we missed?  Don't worry; one good deluge in the Appalachians will lick your chassis clean.

Rest assured...there is an ample supply of all 26 letters of the alphabet (including the elusive letters Q and Z) on most major roadways and little gems like Mr. Ed's Elephant Museum and Fudge Emporium are alive and kicking. Yes indeed, America is in good shape as far as road tripability is concerned. 


Road trips are to the soul, what a good stretch is to your muscles.  Life needs to be a little unscripted once in a while, and nothing lends itself to spontaneity quite like hitting the road.  Since leaving your stroller however many years ago, what other times in your life have you been able to dedicate your entire day to watching the world go by? With nothing else on your mind other than the song that is playing on the stereo and the challenge of grabbing another handful of sunflower seeds without looking.  Those good old stroller days are as close as your steering wheel.


  I like to mix that up with visits to old friends and neighborhoods.  You never know, I may just show up on your front porch one day...unannounced and out of the blue, like I did to my friends in Maryland and North Carolina last week.  And if I do, you can bet I'll have a big smile on my face, a windshield full of bugs, a few hours of asphalt behind me, and quite possibly the lyrics to "China Grove" still running through my brain. 

The road is ready...are you?



Bonus Quote:  "Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign unpossessed places."                      Italio Calvino