Tonight I spent about an hour finding things, folding them neatly, and stowing them in my little blue suitcase-friend. It's funny that one can be such good friends with a suitcase, but me and my suitcase are very good friends. I found my amazing sleeping bag that rolls up until it is impossibly small, and I set my alarm for 5:30, and now I can't imagine going to sleep. I know that in the morning I will want to sleep longer, but I also know that I can sleep in the car, and that is what keeps me from going to bed yet.
Our annual family reunion is an extremely grand occasion for those relatives on Mama's side of the family. Everyone who can possibly make it ends up at our grandparent's summer home up in the woods by St. Mary's river, and we spend a few days in the sunshiny bliss of being close to those we are closest to and basking in fresh river water and the sunlight that bounces off the Big Rock (which we also sometimes jump off of). There are hidden places of huckleberries and wild blueberries, a "haunted" cabin that causes us to run with chills of terror crawling up our spines as we go to and from the river, and plenty of random, spur-of-the-moment forts and hide-outs scattered about the fir woods.
But between me and this once-a-year fantasy of a vacation lies a ten-hour drive that may seem like an eternity. I also happen to hate car-sick medicine, which makes matters even worse. I've spent the last few days planning my movement for tomorrow morning over and over again. I will take a walk, eat half my breakfast, drink some water, quickly swallow the pill, and then eat more food to cover up the horrible taste. Hopefully I can carry through with this, seeing as ten hours in the car is likely to be very bad without a little bit of medicine (for me at least). But the medicine is only a small part of tomorrow, and the rest of it will be quite nice, including lots of nice music in the car, interesting scenery at least part of the way, and a lunchtime stop at a nostalgic restaurant made so because we go there every year. It will be good!
Maube I should actually try to go to sleep now... :-)
