The Best Laid Plans...

This week Lovey and I made another trip to Springdale for his surgery. It's about a 5 hour trip from our house, so we went up on Wednesday and traveled back after his surgery on Thursday. I knew before we left that we would go a bit out of the way to check on my daddy after his surgery on Monday. Before leaving the house I had a great idea - take my camera and snap interesting pictures so that I could blog about our trip. And I did see some interesting things. But I didn't take even one picture.

 I think stress has turned my brain to Jello.

 I think too many things to focus on causes me to lose focus.

 I think driving and taking pictures at the same time is a bad idea.

If I had taken pictures, I would have taken a picture of Lovey as he drove on Wednesday. With the many hours that he must work, we don't have the chance to take road trips that often. And while this wasn't a joy ride for sure, we did enjoy our time in the car, just the two of us. So, right here just imagine a picture of Lovey with his cute little whiskered face wearing his black sunglasses with one hand on the wheel.

If I had taken pictures, I would have taken one of my daddy's backyard when we first drove up. He has two dogs that he treats like his kids better than his kids. But in his back yard there are cats everywhere. Not quite as many as mine but more than I ever dreamed. So, right here just imagine a picture of daddy's backyard, really shady and full of orange cats.

If I had taken pictures, I would have definitely taken some as we drove through tornado-stricken Vilonia. There was destruction everywhere we looked. Each neighborhood was dotted with roofs covered in blue tarps. Trees were broken and scattered. Sometimes in those still standing I could see tin and insulation wrapped around the top limbs. We even saw one house that looked as though someone had used it as a spinner in a game of spin the bottle. It was twisted sideways on the foundation. But in the middle of all of the wreckage, we saw crews at work cleaning and rebuilding. So, right here just imagine many pictures of a small town that is ripped to shreds but not at all devastated.

If I had taken pictures, I would have probably taken a picture while we ate dinner in Fayetteville. We went to Logan's Roadhouse. The waitress very sweetly suggested a drink, that I then ordered. She shortly came back to tell me that the bartender didn't have the ingredients for that particular drink. I smiled and changed my order. She then asked for our dinner order. I ordered a steak, salad, and baked sweet potato. Lovey wanted ribs, spiced apples, and fries. She shortly returned to tell me that the kitchen was out of baked sweet potatoes. I smiled and changed my order. Lovey and I talked, did a little people watching, and waited for our dinner. She shortly returned to tell us that she had somehow forgotten to give the kitchen our order but assured us that now they were cooking it, and it would be out quickly. I smiled, took a big, big slurp of that drink that wasn't the one I really wanted,  and changed my mind about ever returning to that restaurant. So, right here just imagine a picture of the look of surprise on the waitress' face when she counted her tip and realized that I didn't slight her a bit for her blunders.

If I had taken pictures, I would have taken one of the moving van that I followed for several miles during Thursday's return trip. It was a large yellow Pensky van pulling a small UHaul trailer. Maybe it was because I had been entertaining myself for many hours that morning, but I found this made me laugh. Being an English teacher, I tried to categorize the sight. Was it oxymoron, juxtaposition, irony; or just a consumer looking for the best deal. So, right here just imagine a picture of that big yellow moving van pulling competitor's trailer.

If I had taken pictures, I would have taken one of Lovey stealing my sour Jellybelly jellybeans. I stopped for gas and decided to grab a snack. After a few minutes back on the road, I may or may not have crossed the white line and rrrrrrrruummmmed along the ridges for a second. But for some reason Lovey quickly woke up and right away started num-numming on my jellybeans. So, right here imagine a picture of his hairy manhands stealing a few colorful treats.

If I had taken pictures, I would have taken one of my momma when we stopped to pick up her surprise for Lovey. Because he can't talk for a week, she got him a new ink pen and some cute little notepads. She looked so happy to be making his difficult just a little easier. Lovey took the pen and notepads and then quickly raised his hand and wiggled it. She very quickly understood his meaning and was almost running to get him a bell. So, right here imagine a picture my momma's and Lovey's look of disappointment when I told them both that she would NOT be giving him a bell.

Hope you enjoyed my imaginary pictures of the road trip.