Riding the Crazy Train

Every now and then I get a little lost
my strings all get tangled, my wires all get crossed
Every now and then I'm right upon the edge
Dangling my toes just over the ledge

~Kenny Chesney, You Save Me

This song describes exactly how I have been feeling for the last couple of months. I have tried everything I know to snap out of my funk but nothing has worked. In fact, in some ways, I have managed to make it worse. It has been escalating on a daily basis and by Friday I was on the verge of a panic attack. So, I did what I do best.

I ran.

Well, more driving than running, but you get my point. My sweet friend Christen invited me to get away to her house in Mississippi and before I knew it, I was on the road! It felt so good to be spontaneous and just do something instead of thinking about all the reasons why I shouldn't go.

Saturday morning her hubby headed off to New Orleans for a bowl game. We were still feeling a little restless so we decided to pack up the girls and join him! We left at a much more respectable hour though, since traveling with babies who have napped recently is infinitely better than tired, cranky babies in the car. The girls did beautifully together and we just kept laughing about how bizarre it was that we were taking a road trip together. We got there and spent the whole day wandering the city.

My word, there are some interesting people there. I'm fighting with my computer but I promise to post pictures soon. There was one woman who was wearing a shirt that hit her right at her waist with what I thought were leggings.

No, no, they were tights. Just tights. No undergarments.

I almost pushed the stroller into 10 people trying to get a picture to post without her realizing that I was taking pictures of her. None of them came out perfectly, but I never claimed to be a professional. And I am sure that Annie Leibowitz does not have bangs, a stroller, or a thousand drunk Saints fans to interfere with her photography greatness.

After a truly wonderful day, we packed up the girls and headed home. It was such an easy, successful trip that we are already planning our next road trip. We plan to brainwash our children into believing that this is a way of life so that they'll be seasoned travelers by the time they get old enough to start driving us nuts. Portable DVD players go a loooong way.

Yesterday was my dad's birthday, so I stopped in Birmingham on my way home and told him Alaina wanted to sing to him in person. He and my mom had no idea that I was coming so they were both thrilled to death that we were there. It was so nice to see them and it gave me a great break to stretch my legs and get something to eat. We finally got back on the road and got home late last night.

It was a wonderful, exhilarating, exhausting weekend and it was exactly what I needed...an open stretch of highway, good music, and time to sort out all my thoughts. Some of the things that I've been struggling with were suddenly crystal clear. Some are still murky, but it was only one weekend after all.

And this crazy train has been around for a long time...