Who needs GPS?

My mother and I, in the car with three girls. No map. A gut feeling about each turn we should take, according to our recognition of familiar landmarks. Goal: drive from Pittsburgh to Painesville, OH. Expected time for trip: Three scant hours each way, six hours total over two days.

Add all of the above together and you get: several wrong turns, almost a tank and half of gas, and a minimum of nine hours on the road.

Count them. Nine hours.

But the girls were pleasant and happy and even excited every time we told them to get back into the car and buckle up. And the garden was even more beautiful when we finally pulled into the driveway, stained with weariness and smelling like Bea's pee, but giddy with an overdose of silly.

And now we're drinking tea and warming up the TV for some good down time.