It has been a busy week of travel. But today: nothing. The past five days draw a comparison to the time I clearly remember when I drove to Savannah, then nearly to the Florida line and back to sleep in my own bed on the same day: possibly 12 hours of travel time.. I do not have the stamina for that anymore, though I believe I could possibly do it with a nap tucked in at some point to give my bones and brain a little rest.
It is sad to think there is no need to set an alarm when I have a reason to get up really early. There is not really any joy to be had in the statement 'old people don't sleep well', but in my case -unless I stay up really late I'll be waking up in plenty of time to get on the road at 5 a.m. Being startled awake by a jangling cartoon-like bouncing, maleovlently grinning clock is not necessary - my brain does it without prompting. Perhaps the good news is there are some places I like to go that are far enough away that getting started well before the crack of dawn isn't completely undesirable: it gives me more time to spend with my faves when I get there!
Went up to Decatur on Monday morning to spend the day with my fav-o-rite people. The smart, sweet successful, hardworking one from TN had come down to overnight with her smart, sweet, successful, hardworking sister on Sunday, to be available on Monday morning. We had plans to go to the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum to see an exhibit about George Washington Carver's life and times. It was pretty interesting (to me anyway), reminding me of the major obstacles he overcame: familial, physical, financial, social, political, on his way to becoming such a remarkable educator and agricultural researcher. Makes me thankful times have changed so dramatically, while being appreciative of the vivid reminders that our society and nation was once so intolerant and 'closed' to those who just needed space and opportunity to shine and show their gifts/talents.
I had contacted a cousin in hopes of meeting her, possibly lured by the Carter Center, so she joined up for the Carver exhibit and lunch. I had never been, and found it very interesting. As you would expect, primarily devoted to the national campaign, presidenal years, and successful life he has experienced as a world traveler for human rights as an elder statesman. There were sections devoted to his early years of farm life in middle GA, and government service prior to the White House, plus quite a bit about changes he has been a part of effecting in world politics and especially health issues in third world nations.
We had a relaxing, tasty, charming meal on a patio, that was remarkably pleasant, though only about ten feet from roaring traffic on a major thoroughfare. Then there was a bit of hole digging involved... not surprisingly so: the whole back of my car was full of plants when I left home at 5 a.m. Some to leave in Decatur, some to travel on to TN. Remarkably, we got everything planted just as a drenching thunderstorm passed through, so all those hydrangeas happily settled into their new home.
It pretty much drizzled on me all the way south, but I did get safely back before dark, since the combination of night and slick roads multiplies the risk, and makes driving even more difficult than either is otherwise. All that fun - and it was still Monday when I went to bed!
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