A rainbow arched across the sky right in front of me last night as I headed down the highway toward Austin. I mean, right in front of me, crossing from one side of the road to the other, with the most crisp, sharp color spectrum I've ever seen in a real rainbow. It was like one out of a kids' book, with the colors perfectly lined up, side by side, and it was right in front of me! Straight ahead! Oh, why didn't I bring my camera?
Rainbows. Promises. It made me smile. I've had a lot on my mind... lots of worries trying to break free and wreak havoc... and I haven't been getting a lot of sleep. The rainbow reassured me, helped me remember to just take things a day at a time.
I looked forward to the next few hours with the Girl, shopping for a some last things she needed before school started. My kids don't have cars at school - we're down to just the two Tom and I are driving - so they have to rely on us or the charity of friends with cars if they need to get around. I don't really mind - it's a good excuse to spend time with them.
I picked up the Girl and we spent the next several hours zipping around Austin highways, searching in futility for specific stores that had the best bargains (she had done her research - that's my Girl!) I stubbornly avoided driving all the way back to my side of town; I knew those stores were there - I just didn't want to drive that far! Subsequently we went in huge circles, missed exits, and encountered tons of traffic. I was tired and stressed with zillions of things buzzing around in my head, and so was she. Two exhausted, stressed women wandering Austin highways in the rain with no clear sense of where they are headed and the clock ticking ever-nearer to closing time doesn't equal a fun shopping experience. (Oh, how I wished I had the internet - Google! - on my phone last night!)
Somewhere, on one of those highways, the Right Perspective slipped clean away. We both lost our tempers. And that's all I'll say about that.
Eventually, we found what we were searching for just before closing time... on my side of town, of course. If I had just headed back there in the beginning...
Anyway, on the way back to campus, our senses of humor returned; we apologized and laughed at ourselves. Passing a long line of halted traffic headed the opposite way, I realized if we had finished up sooner, I would have been sitting in that line of cars for hours instead of exploring every highway in the city with the Girl. My Right Perspective returned, shaking a finger at me for being so careless with it.
What the heck had I been thinking to let myself get so worked up? Why hadn't I realized that none of those things I was worrying or stressing about mattered as much as building precious memories with this Girl I love so much? I'm such a doofus sometimes.
After dropping her off with a hug and kiss and I love you, I made a quick stop at Daniel's (another hug, kiss and I love you) then headed home via an alternate route, able to avoid the huge traffic jam only because our shopping trip had taken hours and hours and led us to the other side of town. Funny, huh?
Out my window an overstuffed half moon lit up the sky and guided me home. A rainbow, a bright moon, the Girl and Daniel. Yeah, it was a good night.
