almost home

We finally got on the road late Tuesday afternoon. Things went pretty uneventfully until it got late. Then I was exhausted and my mom took over the driving.

I tried to sleep, but I knew how tired I was so every little bump woke me up anxious that my mom had fallen asleep at the wheel.

That was never the case, but after an hour or so, we decided it was ridiculous to try and fight sleep. We had more than enough beds in the back. So we stopped for the night.

My mom slept soundly, but I quietly got up every hour or so to check on my grandma. She slept peacefully through the night.

Somewhere in the middle of New Mexico my mom came up to the front of the RV with tears in her eyes. A lump caught in my throat. But I had to ask.

My grandma had just told my mom she didn't know if she would make it home. It was taking too long.

Not if I had anything to say about it. I said a prayer and stepped down harder on the accelerator.

Despite the crazy crosswinds, we made it through New Mexico and up and over the pass. My mom was called back to the back again. My grandma had asked for some good Colorado water.

In the rearview mirror, I could see my grandma sitting up a little and smiling. She had seen the old wooden Welcome to Colorful Colorado sign.

I smiled, too. I used to love seeing that sign every time I drove home from college. It meant I was almost home.

It meant the same for my grandma.