I met Martee through the UCSD Eating Disorders Center and she is a special FB friend. Martee's soul and her soul-related musings are just too, well, soulful, not to share. Martee is a behind-the-camera mom and a philosopher and these are her people.
They went on a big road trip which I have loved following on FB. Martee knows how to capture the spirt of a big, messy, loving family.
I have gotten so much of what I wanted out of this road trip. Stick your family in the car and your family is stuck with you! When we moved to CA and the kids didn't know anyone, they became a pack. Always together (except Addy at the hospital). Always pals. Everything was from within. Back in Decatur, our Home, everyone has friends. You know, a lovely childhood full of social ties. Beautiful, really and the goal. We raise them to be kind. The whole point is pretty much relationships. In Decatur, my pack is scattered and happy for the most part, just being busy kids. The month long road trip reunites the pack. I grew up going to summer camp and adversity or homesickness, or living without air conditioning, or swimming in mucky water is a rite of passage. I love camp. I love the road trip. But not everyone does. I hear George wrestling with his sleeping bag right now. It is not easy to sleep in strange places. It isn't easy to go with the flow. Some of my pack needs stability, predictability, schedules, H&M, sand free/bug free accommodations, and wifi. No one signed up for this camp/road trip. It was mandatory. They are awesome wicked pissah sports but anxiety and depression can creep up. In the spirit of being a light shiner, mental illness follows you on vacation, too. And I am so grateful that my family is willing to brave any struggle they have and be such hard workers- fighting off the moments when the anxiety is bigger than the hope. I'm not sure of the best ways to spend these fleeting summers of childhood. With my two oldest being 18 and 17, this might be the last extended crazy mama road trip and I'm glad I did it. It is a lot more fun than staying home and grounding your teenagers for underage who knows what. But no matter what, I can't freeze time. I can't keep them in the van forever.
