I comment to a friend of mine who only lives about 45 minutes from me that I find it funny that she says we live so far apart... it's nothing for me to drive 45 minutes... heck that's only a handful of songs... when you boil it down... but it's just she's gotten no attention span for being in a car for more then 10 minutes (her words not mine)... lol
if I had the means of transport I'd likely never be home we'd be every where.
but anyway... people who don't like driving weird me out... I just don't get it I suppose... so yeah back to what I was saying...
When I was 10 my grandma died on my Dad's side of the family... and in the summer that I was 11, my family was having supper with my grandfather and he was telling us about how he would be traveling to B.C in June, me being a kid piped up and said 'Oh can I come too?' not thinking anything of it... found out a few days later that my parents were ok with that idea, they talked it over with my grandfather and sure enough a couple of days after the last day of school I was off and traveling with him in his little white car that I named Kirby.
We travelled through the northern states... there were things we learned about each other on that trip... the first thing was... we didn't really know each other at all... but as the trip went on we talked and I learned about his family and what it was like for him growing up and being in the military. He learned that I am not a morning person and that I would stay silent just staring out the window as the scenery passed by, and it wasn't until after noon that I would really talk much.
It felt like we drove forever but I'm sure it was only a week... with him being the only driver in the car we would stop each night and we would sleep in the car or in a hotel room... I didn't even really care where we were going I just loved the fact that I got to see 'the world' (to me then)... he showed me sights that he showed his kids when they would travel... I saw how flat Montana is... and how you could see where it was raining miles and miles away while the sun shines down on you... yeah I thought that was weird...
I kept a journal (who'da thunk it eh?) while on my trip of being in the car... grandpa would try really hard to miss bumps and such if he noticed that I was writing... he was such a sweetie... I don't remember a whole lot now 20 yrs later of what we really talked about, I remember a lot of silence... and I was ok with that...
I met my great grandmother on that trip and her room mate... that always makes me smile when I think about that... they kept going on and on about the length of my eye lashes and how much I looked like Margo... yeah that was a crazy great aunt of mine who killed herself... I was mortified at the time that I would remind them of a crazy woman who killed herself... now... yeah I can see how it would fit... I also very briefly met my other great grandmother she didn't want visitors... crazy old bat... so we moved on through and started back through Canada... we worked it out with my aunt (one of my mom's sisters) that I could stay the summer there. So gramps was going to drive to Regina SK and drop me off there... but we stopped to visit a couple of my dad's sisters in Alberta... now up to this point it was just me, grandpa and the radio playing songs that were from like the 40's cause he would only listen to tapes... so in Alberta we were witness to the two aunts getting into a fist fight in the back of my uncles pharmacy... we rolled our eyes and sighed... we were picking up the youngest one and she was going back to Ontario with grandpa after he dropped me off in Saskatchewan... I was not impressed I now had to sit in the back and didn't really get to talk much... however... grandpa made sure that before we left that he and I went to the West Edmonton Mall... it was awesome... I looked around and took it all in but didn't want to really do any of the rides or any shopping... yeah I'm weird... people take me places and I just want to take pictures and look around... like some sort of strange observer...
Anyway... so on we went in silence.. my aunt gabbing my grandpa's ears off and me quiet and staring out the back windows of the car...
We got to Regina... and no one was home... I didn't think anything of it... I told grandpa I'd be fine until my aunt got home and my aunt convinced him I would be fine... and so they left me... the back door was open so we didn't think they'd be gone very long...
So... darkness fell... and ... *chuckles* it got later and later and no one was coming home... so I called home to my mom... she was not a happy camper to say the least... so was freaking out... I on the other hand was fine... nice quiet house... so needless to say my mom got a hold of her uncle who lived in Regina to come and get me so that I could stay with him until she could figure out what happened to my aunt...
Uncle Nick came to get me... he seemed a crotchety old man... but he figured some young girl would be real scared... so he knocked and loudly announced who he was and why he was there and that he wanted me to call my mom before he came into the house... crotchety but a gentleman... the only thing I remember about my great uncle Nick is that he had three fingers missing... and I found it intriguing how he smoked like that... and his house smelled really bad like old people...
The next day my aunt, uncle and two cousins came back from camping and found out what was going on and came to pick me up from uncle Nicks place... to me this was all quite the adventure.. apparently to the adults this would have been some sort of nightmare...
So there I was at my aunt's house with my cousin who was a year or two younger then me and the other one was 9 or so years younger then me...
My cousin and I had so much fun hanging out that summer... I got into a bunch of trouble and went through a couple of things I'd rather forget but... nonetheless had a good time while I was there.
So fast forward 20 years... to today... well actually yesterday... in and amidst all the crap that happened yesterday... I got a phone call from my cousin... he's in town until Sunday... so he'll be at my mom's house for dinner on Saturday... and we're both excited to be able to get a chance to hang out again even if for only the evening... I'm really kinda stoked... I don't get out west like ever... and he's rarely out here... so... there will be fun times to be had...
Gave me a warm fuzzy when we were hanging up last night and he's like '...love ya Cuz, I'll talk to ya probably tomorrow' :)
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