A Decieving Roadtrip- A Vignette

  I recall being twelve years old and my family and I were trudging through a difficult time. We had just moved from Texas all the way to Spring Valley which forced us to face a major change in comparison to our old neighborhood. Since my dad was a truck driver he often took me with him in the summer to venture along the eastern coast of the U.S. Since we already relocated to New York he paid my family and I a visit, then a trip back to Texas--making deliveries along the way for just about a week. I loved spending time with my dad because we seldom spent any real time with each other. I spent maybe a few accumulated days just staring out the old Peterbilt window, driving, day and night alike, allowing my imagination to save me from boredom.

Despite talking, laughing, eating and sleeping I didn't get anything done during the trip. The only  actual fun I had was at a stop in a city we took. The place was to my surprise, enjoyable. They had theaters, arcades and some really good old fashion buffets. I'd soon find out it was all too good to be true. Breaking from my young and naive dream, I had figured why I was even on the trip in the first place. My dad wanted to have a serious talk with me about the problems he was facing with my mother. If that wasn't bad enough, he then asked me which of my parents I wanted to live with. I had to pick my mother, because i knew my father wasn't as reliable as i needed him to be. But on the other hand  knew with or without my father a mothers love is always consistent and she always found a way to make ends meet, and I knew where ever I went he would still support me and visit.

After all this, I noticed I really like reflecting on myself and my troubles and just how I deal with them. I enjoyed looking out the window and staring out to the empty road. It gives me time to think seriously and flex my imagination--break from my shell and really learn about myself. The method hasn't failed yet.

-Josh R.-