June 8 – “The Count”

Well, the much-heralded 39^th anniversary trip to Waco has drawn to a close.  The trip, though long, was never dull with Cailyn in the back seat alternately serenading us and asking where we were now.  Going up there we had the advantage of knowing that somewhere out there on the road was Uncle Kel and Aunt Christina and all of their kids, heading to the same destination.  Good ol’ Uncle Kel.  Cailyn informed us that he was “the funniest kid ever.”  I asked her what him so funny, and she answered, “Well, because he laughs a lot.”  Glad to have you in the family, Funny Uncle Kel.  Of course Uncle Kel is a first-born, as is Aunt Christina.  And they have one of their own in Jachin.  So their other two boys have learned well how to be competitive.  That being said, the ride to Waco was all about the competition.  Who would arrive in Waco first?  Who would touch the front door first?  Oh, and did I mention that Cailyn falls into the ranks of the first born as well?  The “enemy” vehicle passed us on the freeway at one point, and Cailyn sang out her encouragement, “Nana’s a slowpoke.  Nana’s a slowpoke.  Every day.”  I wish I could communicate the catchy, sing-songy tune as well.  As it turned out, we arrived at the house first, but the boys most assuredly beat us to touching the front door, so victory was theirs.

Cailyn wasn’t much up for the competition on the way home, though.  She was too busy doing her absolute best to stay awake.  At one point she even started counting.  That’s right.  Just counting.  Out loud.  One to a hundred.  Counting by twos.  Counting by fives.  Counting by tens.  We didn’t know she could do all that.  But she reached an impasse when she ran out of high numbers.  She wanted to count to a billion, but didn’t really understand the implications of how long that could actually take.  She made it to a hundred fine, but after a hundred and nine she was ready to go to the next higher decimal.  So I accommodated her.  We went through billion and trillion and quadrillion, each followed by “a trillion and one, a trillion and two …” and so on up to “a trillion and nine …” and then on to the next.  Once we ran out of numbers and I told her the word “Google” meant the highest number she could think of, she continued, “a google and one, a google and two …”  With no decimal-related names left, she decided we should start making some names up.  Why not?  We were just in Houston.  Plenty of time to kill.  Her first foray into the number naming game was an interesting one: window shot.  “Window shot and one, window shot and two …”  Then in quick order came 80McDonald, window shot roof, and window shot restaurant.   She insisted on my input, so I added “wigglesnort.”  Chris offered “Snuffalapagus.”  Yes.  We were all getting pretty tired.  But we managed to stay awake all the way to Galveston.  It was somewhere around ten when we got the car unloaded and made our way to bed.  Great trip.  Great anniversary.  Great wife. 

Luke 12:7 says, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Father, thank you for caring so much about me and my family and our inherent wackiness.  Amen.