June 7 – “Are we there yet?”

Ever had one of those moments where it hits you that you should have done something just seconds after the opportunity has past?  Well I did something yesterday that I have always wanted to do and never thought about it at the time. 

I mentioned yesterday that Cailyn would be making the trip to Waco with us for Zak’s birthday since both of her parents had to work.  Now we have made more than a few trips in the car with our boys growing up to away basketball and soccer games and treks to visit grandparents.  And invariably at some point in the journey we would be greeted with that universal, inevitable, and seemingly never-ending childhood query … Are we there yet?  Haven’t you ever wished that you would have counted just how many times they actually said it instead of just generalizing the experience to “about a million times”?  Well, I remembered this time.  And I kept track. 

We stopped at Kel’s house to pick up a kids’ sized picnic table that wouldn’t fit in their car, and Cailyn began her geographical quest for knowledge shortly thereafter.  Here is a look at our trip.  Oh, and you won’t need a map.

Just north of LaMarque at the Kemah exit: “Are we there yet?”

Approaching Beltway 8: “Are we there yet?”
610 at Bellaire: “Are we there yet?”
290 at Fairbanks – North Houston: “Are we there yet?”
Spring-Cypress Road: “Are we there yet?”
And a quick follow-up variation: “How far are we away from Corpus?”
Hockley: “Are we there yet?”
After a quick stop at Buccee’s we returned to the road, and we had barely entered the freeway when we heard: “Are we there yet?”
The Highway 6 exit off of 290: “Are we there yet?”
Entering College Station: “Are we there yet?”
Entering Bryan: “Are we there yet?”
Entering Hearne: “Are we there yet?”
We did stop for some lunch in Hearne, but somewhere in the middle of nowhere north of there: “Are we there yet?”
Passing the “Waco 42 miles” sign: “Are we there yet?”
Entering Marlin: “Are we there yet?”
11 miles from Waco: “Are we there yet?”

By this time Chris realized that I was keeping track, so she was chuckling along with me.  She finally started a countdown to keep her distracted, so the tally – sadly - had come to an end.  By my count that’s 16 times.  That’s the benchmark for all future Waco excursions.  Something to live up to, future generations.

Acts 9:27-28 says, “But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.”

Father, thank you for long trips and maps and even that mysterious lady’s voice inside the google maps ap.  Amen.