Driving down I40 through Oklahoma, 28 years since I lived in this state. I had forgotten how beautiful it was. A mix of scrub brush and prairies. With rolling green hills dotting the horizon. I had forgotten about the native peoples – their beauty and strength.
When we first crossed the state line memories began to flood my mind. I spent several years of my childhood in Oklahoma – Lawton to be exact. My dad was in the Army and when we lived here we spent many weekends camping and visiting the natural areas – Mt Rogers, the refuge with the prairie dogs and Bison.
I remembered my 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Royal, her beautiful cocoa skin and her curt manner that seemed to soften before my very eyes. I fondly remember my rabbit, Casper, he was a runt of the litter and for a local man who raised rabbits for food he was considered a waste – my mom talked him into letting the baby bunny come home with me from a local flea market, with much love and food Casper had become the bane of our toy poodles existence. Chasing her around the backyard and running around like the silly bunny that he was.
Memories I haven’t thought of in years. Happy memories that to this day make me smile and feel content.
Yeah, it is going to be a good trip.
This trip is stressful and there is a lot of physical pain that I am paying for the time on the road but I think as we move along this voyage becomes cathartic. Memories that I’ve not thought about in years, decades really – are coming back and it is okay. I am grateful for this trip, grateful for the therapy it is giving me.
