Driving and Memories

Yesterday, I returned home from my quick road trip to take a car load of boxes for seminary up to Maryland.  I made this Facebook post:

"I left Maryland at daybreak and pulled into my North Carolina driveway at 1:35. Five states between dawn and noon: Maryland, W. Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. From the Interstate, I waved hello to my mother's birthplace (Winchester, Virginia) and my grandmother's birthplace (Johnson City, Tennessee). I waved hello to various schools that dear friends attended--too many to name. I crossed beautiful rivers and waved hello to the Appalachian Trail and other places I hiked in my youth. I said a prayer of thanks for all the green trees and the hope that resurrection of a tired planet might be possible."

I spent much of the drive awash in memories of previous road trips across these mountains.  While I've made the trip from Florida to the North Carolina mountains frequently, this past road trip took me to Virginia, where I haven't been in years/decades.  And I haven't been to Johnson City, Tennessee since I was in my late teens.  I have a memory of my mom and sister and I stopping in as we went from Knoxville to Charlottesville on time.  My maternal grandmother came from a farm in Johnson City, and my maternal grandfather's first call was to 5 churches in that area--that's how they met.

Instead of my zippy, subcompact Prius, I drove the SUV, a Rogue with all sorts of safety features and room for many more boxes.  I learned to drive on a 74 Monte Carlo, so you'd think I would be used to larger cars.  I am not.  It feels like a significant achievement to take a road trip in the Rogue all by myself.

There are many moments when I think, when did I become this timid person?  I used to take long road trips, back in the days before cell phones, in cars that leaked copious amounts of oil and were held together with chewing gum and good wishes.  I guess that one of the hazards/blessings of growing older is the awareness of all that can go wrong.

I am looking forward to the next road trip when I'll have another driver, and I can spend time looking at the views.  I was so focused on the road that I didn't really feel like I could take in all the mountain vistas.