If you would have told me that I’d be dragged out of my bed before the sun woke up, be thrown in a car seat and watching a fanatical woman run around outside a McDonalds in Nowhere, Nevada…I wouldn’t have believed you.  If you would have told me that woman would be taking pictures of statues, the flag, the sunrise and the ground…I would have started to get scared.   If you would have told me that woman was my Momma…well, I would have been scared because that is my life. 

As I sat there that early morning, watching my crazy Momma kneel down just feet from the drive-thru lane so she could get a better angle on the bear statue, I closed my eyes.  I closed my eyes hoping I could go back to that warm yet lumpy hotel bed.  I closed my eyes hoping that when I opened them she wouldn’t be acting so silly.   I closed my eyes hoping her next move would be to come back to the car, put the camera down and behave sensibly.   I mean, who jumps out of a car after ordering her baby’s oatmeal and orange juice, on a barely light morning, in the middle of almost nowhere to take pictures??? 

Just so you know, there were cars behind us.  Just so you know, I was slightly concerned.   Just so you know, people were watching, even pointing.  I’m used to the stares and funny expressions of passersby.   But usually I’m on her back to save the day and distract people with my charm.   I’ve even added, “move along”…and “we walking…we walking” to my phrases.  I sat helpless though, strapped in the car seat for like the twenty-eleventh hundred mile.  When I opened my eyes, instead of returning to the car, I saw my Momma had actually climbed on top of the baby bear to get a close up picture of some deer animal with really big things coming out of its head.  I, of course, slapped my forehead and tried to cover Lyla’s eyes. This was mistaken as misbehaving and earned me a glare from Daddy.  I think I heard the woman at the window ask, “Is that woman climbing the statues?”  Oh man. Welcome to my life.  

Some kind of deer with really big things that come out of its head.

As I resigned myself to this life, I watched my Momma.  She was so focused.  She was unaware of people staring…or she didn’t care.  She was even smiling a little.   She was happy.  And that made me happy.  I could actually tell that she loved what she was doing.  Not like she loves me and Lyla…but pretty close!  As I watched my Momma that morning, I actually loved her just a little bit more for running around crazy like that.   The things I do for love…really aren’t so bad.