Somewhere around the seven-hundredth mile, Chick-fil-A became part of the plan. We were on the first leg of a much larger trip back East, with Alabama ahead of us. There were plenty of reasons for the journey, but I have to admit the chicken makes a more entertaining headline.
My husband was driving. I was working from the passenger seat, which sounds like a fairly efficient arrangement until the connection drops. Then the scenery continues to move while whatever you were trying to do does not. Our initial hotspot arrangement gave me plenty of opportunities to appreciate that distinction.
I’d brought work with me because work was still happening. Being on the road didn’t change that. A portable laptop desk and noise-canceling headphones were part of the effort to make it manageable. So was figuring out connectivity, including Starlink. There’s a less picturesque side of RV travel that involves trying to keep the ordinary parts of life functioning from a different location.
I was also managing my energy. With MS, the distance on the route isn’t the only thing to consider. There are rest stops, pacing, and how I’m feeling along the way. I wanted to enjoy the trip. I also needed to recognize when the day was asking more of me than I had available.
And there was my mom. This was while she was still alive and having memory difficulties. She repeatedly asked where I was. Explaining once didn’t mean the answer would stay with her, so being away involved staying connected and finding patience for conversations we’d already had.
That part could feel complicated. I wanted to be present on the trip with my husband, and I wanted my mom to feel reassured. I had work to do and my own health to consider. All of those things came with me when we left Colorado. They didn’t require storage space in the RV, but they certainly took up room in my attention.
We also had a leak in the shower skylight. I ordered caulk from Amazon ahead to our next destination. There’s something very practical about arranging for a repair supply to meet you farther down the road. The trip continues, and you try to make sure what you need will be there when you are.
I kept needing patience, for my mom, for the technology, and for myself. Faith was part of how I tried to find it. I don’t remember this leg of the trip as a clean escape from everyday life. Everyday life was right there in the passenger seat with me.
Maybe that’s why the Chick-fil-A detail belongs in the title. Alongside everything I was trying to manage, we made a spontaneous stop for something we wanted. A small, ordinary pleasure on a trip with quite a lot going on. I want to remember that part, too.