Road Trip

I am sitting alone in a motel room in Twinsburg, Ohio and grateful for wi-fi service on my laptop. Once again, I have no Internet service at home.

No, I didn’t drive over a hundred miles just to find Internet. I’m here for the Twinsburg Library Writers Retreat where tomorrow I will conduct a workshop on finding an agent. What is truly amazing is that I’m ready. I hope. With everything that’s happened the last two weeks, I wondered how I’d ever get my notes pulled together. But I did it.

A strange phenomenon happens to me every time I hit the road. I get homesick. The strange part is that I get it BEFORE I leave. I weep over leaving my kitties. I weep over leaving Hubby, even though he’s probably doing the Snoopy dance, having the house to himself. Poor Skye is stuck with her “dad” for the night. I weep over leaving my mom, even though she’s settled at the Health Center and my brother officially has Mom Duty for two days.

My shoulders ached as I pulled out of my driveway. The gray sky and drizzle didn’t help. I thought I was going to be sick.

But about the time I made it to Calcutta (Ohio, not India. I’m not driving THAT far), I realized something. I was FREE! Everyone was taken care of. I’m prepared for my workshop. I have a couple of good books packed.

And the sun came out.

I gassed up at a Sheetz and loaded up on junk food and an extra large cappuccino. Once I got back on Route 11, I felt twenty pounds lighter. With my GPS on the dash and Aerosmith on the CD player, I was ready to kick back and enjoy my road trip.

I was expecting more snow up here. Honestly, we have every bit as much snow back home as they have here. The forecast looks clear, so life is good. I have free wi-fi, free cable on the TV and a decent choice of restaurants within walking distance. But it’s cold, so I’ll probably drive.

Or I could pig-out on the junk food I brought along. What’s a road trip without chips and pretzels?

Comments

Sara said…
I get pre-homesick, too!
2/18/08, 2:36 PM
Annette said…
Oh, good! I'm not alone. And I even like that you've got a term for it. PRE-homesick. Yep, that's it.
2/18/08, 3:38 PM
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