The stretch of Interstate 35 between Oklahoma City and the Kansas border is the longest road I have ever driven. Invariably, driving south on my way to see family, I'd pass the exit to Ponca City, and start counting down until the Stillwater exit that never, ever got closer. For every mile I traveled, the distance remaining to cover would increase by two miles. Don't tell me it was in my head. That road got longer and longer the more of it I drove. I'm pretty sure the distance from Guthrie to Edmond is infinity.
This week feels just like driving south on I-35 at three o'clock in the morning. I'm so tired I just want to pull over and stop. But just like all those unending car trips, I can't find rest. Back then I would try to sleep sitting up behind the wheel. I wouldn't get any restorative sleep, and my ankles would swell so big I couldn't push the gas pedal hard enough to reach my destination. Now I don't feel able to turn away from the TV, and I refresh my Twitter feed every few minutes. I hurt everywhere. I'm still eating junk. Will this week ever end? What am I saying... of course it won't. This is the 8388th week of 2020. It will last another decade, if we are lucky. Two if we aren't.
I have my usual little girl pictures. One is of that fresh clean puppy with the legs that grow an inch every day. The others are of my grandbaby's trip with her parents to the coffee shop down the road from their house. The kids sent me the pictures of Dino having a ball with an empty coffee cup. I told my daughter yes, start her young. Coffee is the water of life for our family. (No, don't worry. Not ~that~ young.) She will need it on long car trips, especially if she visits the old country (Oklahoma).
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