When Are We

When are we getting there?????

I wondered if our children would ever stop asking that question.

I remember when we took the first family vacation away from home. Normally, my husband and I spent his annual paid leave trekking back and forth to Jones Beach carrying coolers of sandwiches and cold drinks.

It seemed the easiest way while the children were still so young. However, one year we finally reached a milestone. No one in diapers, no one in a stroller, and it was time for a real vacation somewhere different.

A friend recommended a glacier lake in the Northeast Kingdom where cabins were available for rental. We took the telephone number of the agent and soon were en route for our long anticipated adventure.

However, that was the pivotal word neglected in our planning. It was a long trip, over eight hours in a crowded station wagon with four youngsters. We hadn’t calculated that many of the anticipated highways were still in the planning stage, and our trip would be made primarily on two lane country roads.

The first time we heard, ‘When are we getting there?” was as we crossed the Throgs Neck Bridge with approximately another seven and a half hours of travel remaining.

By the time we made our first stop across the Massachusetts Border, I felt as if the constant questioning was ringing in my ears.

And looking back at my own life, now I ask myself “Is this what I am saying to God?”

I wonder when I began to question my maker with exactly the same question as I ponder “What next?”

I may not be questioning the length of time remaining in a crowded vehicle, but as I walk this earth surrounded by other pilgrims.

Instead of anticipating arrival at a glacier lake surrounded by mountains, our four children focused only on how much time they had left before exiting the vehicle.

Perhaps I am doing exactly the same thing worrying about what happens when that pivotal birthday arrives, or maybe before my next doctor’s consultation.

Maybe I should be focusing on the joys of the incredible three weeks I spent in CA with loved ones, Sunday visits with Will, Saturday night dinners with good friends, the fun of Luncheon at the Elks Club, as well and the amazing variety of streaming selections I view nightly.

Instead I worry, and I should know better. I just pray when the time arrives, I am ready for travel.