Tracks: Tires and Tears

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why I have a tendency to dwell on the negative. For instance, why can’t I celebrate that we just spent four warm days with our daughter while she was home for Fall Break? Instead, I’m too busy being sad that she’s gone again. She pulled out of the driveway of the family home today, returning to her new life in Ft. Worth.



Her time off from school seemed to be consistently busy, but kind of low-key. After a brief trip to Baton Rouge to visit friends at LSU, she came home for the weekend. Happily, two young ladies came along with her and another came over from Louisiana Tech for a brief reunion. This made us happy because we got to see them, too; and make no mistake about it, my wife and I miss having them around.
Still, the visits were all too brief and the image of my daughter behind the wheel of her vehicle has become distressingly familiar. We put on a happy face and said so long, sending her on her way with a hug, a kiss and a wave. There may have been a tail wag thrown in for emphasis.



Of course, I thought about how long it should take her to make it back to campus, added about fifteen minutes to the back end and then called. Thankfully, she made it back to the dorm safely. Happily as well, I suspect. Being home was great when it seemed like old times. Having her friends around for a few days contributed to that feeling. After a couple of days limited to going out to dinner and watching TV with her parents, a campus crawling with people her own age had to have a certain appeal.
As she left, I hugged her a little too long and kissed her one too many times. My thinking is, you can never get those moments back so hang on to them as long as you can. Strangely, a few minutes after she thought she was rid of me, we ran into one another at a gas station.



She laughed and graciously hugged me one more time. Then, she was on her way with a full tank of gas and a recharged spirit.
Let’s put it this way, she shed no tears when she hit the road. I wish I could say the same for myself.

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