Growing up, I always spent at least a week or two every summer in west Texas at my grandparents house in the small town where my father grew up. My brother and I have lots of fun memories of eating the "monogrammed" pancakes my grandad would make, getting ice cream cones at Dairy Queen, riding our bikes to the park, singing along with Grandmother as she played her guitar ("How Much is that Doggie in the Window," "Red, Red, Robin" and "Chocolate Ice Cream Cone" were our favorites). And of course, sleeping late. My last few summers of high school, as well as the summers I was in college I was too friend-focused or summerschool-driven to make time to come, but since I've been married I've been able to spend a few days there in June or July.
This past Sunday morning the kids and I packed some bags, I pointed the van west, and we travelled the familiar path to Grandmother's house. I love the trip, because the towns get smaller, the ground gets flatter, the mesquite trees become more numerous... and time gets s-l-o-w-e-r. I'm not sure how many seconds are in a minute here, or how many minutes are in an hour, but it must be more than 60! According to my calculation, the time change must start pretty soon after we leave the Dallas metro area. Even as a child I thought it took forever to get here. We have enjoyed this week of laziness where time stands still. Even on Sunday mornings it seems like you've got hours to get ready for church. I love it!
The clock may move slowly, but the thermometer has moved quickly each morning. (When it gets really, really hot, Luke sometimes says, "It is Africa hot!" Well, someone in west Africa can officially say, "It is Texas hot!") Today I believe it reached 110 degrees. It was 109 yesterday, and the forecast for tomorrow is 112. Hot.
When it's this hot, I feel so lethargic. That must be the case for the animals we saw on the roads on the way that obviously hadn't moved quickly enough. It was unreal! I don't think I've seen that many before. I'm thinking that on the way home we could switch from playing the "license plate game" or the "alphabet game" and make up a new game called the "roadkill game." Extra points for buzzards!
This week during our visit we have played Skip-Bo and Boggle, eaten wonderful food, and laughed at funny stories. We have played the fiddle and guitar and have sung hymns together. We shopped at our favorite (and the only) "boutique" in town. We joined Grandmother in her volunteer work at the local nursing homes, which was a treat! Tomorrow morning we are going to join her and her 3 friends who play and sing at the local senior citizens center. (Bethany and I are going to make our singing debut! Kyle will work "media," meaning he'll video us...) Despite the heat, it's been a refreshing week so far.
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