Almost Ready....

Holy cow, less then 24 hours till we leave for our big adventure to Washington, DC with the Patriot Guard Riders!!! I’m so excited I could just about POP! I’ve still got a lot to do yet, but got most of my packing done yesterday. Also cleaned house yesterday (and yes, the novelty of cleaning our new house has definitely worn off, haha!) and went to Walmart to buy sunscreen and take care of a few last-minute details of importance (hehe). Tonight, I have a few other miscellaneous things to pack and remember (such as printing out Mapquest maps, trying to find my GOOD Road Atlas that’s buried somewhere in my car, stocking the cooler, remembering the cell phone charger, camera bag, video camera…… packing things like toothpaste, etc…. a lot of little – but very important! – details! I think I might go a little crazy trying to remember it all & get it all done…oh, wait, I’m already crazy, never mind.

I am somewhat conflicted about this trip. Well, conflicted might not be the right word, but I’ve sure got conflicting emotions – ranging from sorrow (this trip is, after all, for a funeral for a fallen hero!) to excitement about the trip itself and the fun that we are bound to have along the way, plus anticipation that I FINALLY get to visit the wounded Heroes at WRAMC – another long-standing dream of mine… and then flip-flopping to sadness again, because, after all – the whole point of this trip is to honor the fallen and the lost, and you can’t think of that without being sad. I’m pretty sure the happy and the sad parts of the trip will balance each other out though…and there is bound to be plenty of inspiring moments along the way, plenty of life-changing, awe-inspiring glimpses of courage and pride and patriotism and sacrifice & selflessness and everything that makes America great.

What does this trip hold for us? Long-awaited closure for a grieving family… the honor of being able to stand and be a part of honoring this fallen Hero, of paying our respects personally…. The chance to visit our wounded Heroes, and let them know that we have not forgotten them, and that they, too, make us immeasurably proud, and that they are loved…Moments of sorrow, moments of zany silliness and some serious amounts of fun…. Yep… this will be a road trip like no other....

And I just can’t wait to get started.