West.

I love you. Who you are through and through. You are the love of my life. Beautiful mother of my children. We’ve both worked so hard the last year. I’ve been in North Dakota and Nebraska hunting the bear, and you’ve taken the affairs of the house like the Proverbs 31 woman you are. Booking? Bookkeeping? Retail? Food/Bev? Dentistry? Govt Contracting? Music? Your jam from the comfort of the home we’ve both made.

Our children. Pile them into the car. Van. SUV. Station wagon in whatever form it’s taken in 2025.

We’re heading west, on the vacation we’ve both EARNED. Our kids have never seen the mountains of Tennessee. Gatlinburg. Pigeon Forge. The places mom loved so much.

Maybe even further. Grand Canyon. Yosemite. Who cares? We’ve piled our family into the family cruiser to spend two weeks together and have a blast like we were always meant to.

I hear this. Feel this. Midwestern, sure. But since the first time I hard it, I’ve pictured your beautiful, smiling face… wrangling our kids into the vacationmobile as we were always meant to to have quality family time we couldn’t get anywhere else.

A memory I’ll never have. Even though I have something etched into my mind when I hear this song as if it was part of who I was.

A voyage across land rather than sea. Our kids with us. Virginia Grace. Christian Alexander. And one or two names of your choice. Honoring those dear to you.

How? Why?

Couldn’t care less.

Only one thing soothes my heart.

No matter how I die… I will not die alone. The Holy Spirit will be with me. Always.

When I see the breadth of all that is truly real… this crib… will be merely that.

All regrets will stay here. Especially the lack of this memory that exists in a world in a road not taken.

I can’t comprehend suicide. But holy crap… I can’t wait. 😃