"Safely and Quickly"

I miss my Momma this Mother's Day.

She lives a simple life in Tennessee and doesn't have any need to run those fancy computers with such high falootin' things like Blogs and Facebook. Without the daggum' internet, I can't profess my appreciation to her for the gift of life and then hear from her the story of my birth that she typically recites to me twice annually, once on Mother's Day and the other on my birthday. My little sister tells me that Ma got the card I sent out a few weeks ago and I asked sis to pass on that I'd be home to call Mom in just about a week. So, Mom will have to wait to hear her son's sweet voice this Mother's Day.

From about as far back as when I was in grade school, my mother has been in the truckin' business.  Lil' Jeanie they call her on the CB. My petite, brunette momma has been an over the road, long haul truck driver, behind the steering wheel of an eighteen wheeler for twenty five plus years. Yep, I'm the son of a MotherTrucker.

From about grade 5 on through high school, my sister and I were primarily raised by a gentle and sweet old lady by the name of Kathy. Oh how I miss Kathy dearly. She was a very important part of our family in some challenging formative years of my youth. When my step father and mother were on the road, Tarina and I were left with dogs to tend to and Kathy, our nanny, to watch over us. I regularly remember stretches where we were without parents for a week to ten days, sometimes more. Yet no matter the length of the haul, each time my sister, Kathy and I sat down to eat we ended each prayer the same way.

"... Lord, please bring them home Safely and Quickly to us."

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Being away from my wife and kids for 10 months, minus a little 10 day Holiday hiatus, has been one of the most challenging obstacles in my life. But with a travel itinerary in hand, I anxiously await this Friday the thirteenth. Ravn Air is scheduled to get me on my way at around 4:00pm on Friday and Alaska Airlines will take care of the rest, Lord willing, delivering me to my family safely and quickly on Saturday afternoon.

Today I SKYPE'd with Michele and the kids at our regularly scheduled Sunday evening time. When Emma said good bye to go take a shower and get ready for bed I said, "Bye honey. I love you. Skype next Sunday?" She quickly popped back in to the screen and said, "Dad, you're going to be here next Sunday!" - I know dear....doesn't it feel great?

Four days of school, a little final grading and some obligatory checkout paperwork are all that stand between me and my last walk around this island. I won't be here much longer and the Lord only knows how much longer this island, itself, will be here. Kivalina is falling in to the ocean. It's culture and subsistence ways of life have eroded like the sands and rocks of this coastline. These people are stuck in the middle of a world that they don't want to let go of and the hope for the future. When I reached the edge of town on my walk today I prayed from my own safe travels in to the waiting arms of my family but I also prayed that Kivalina's solutions will come safely and quickly.