Hey, Porter!

Our trip home in December was truly an adventure. We left Boston on Christmas Day on an Amtrak train headed for Georgia. We knew before we left we were either brave or foolish, depending on the measuring stick being used. The expressions on the faces in the picture captures the spectrum of emotions experienced along the way.

First, I have to give props to Amtrak. If you gotta haul a passle of kids a thousand miles, the train is the cheapest and most comfortable means of getting there. Plenty of leg room, wide aisles, mediocre washrooms (step above airlines and gas stations), reclining seats, and coffee always within reach. So maybe there were a few drawbacks, but such is public transportation. Shall I name a few in the spirit of full disclosure? No security. Nada. No metal detector, no baggage x-ray, no intimidating officers with guns keeping out the riffraff or, dare I worry, terrorists. But hey, why worry about terrorists when the more imminent danger is the car deliberately abandoned on the track in the path of our train? Or, how about the faulty wiring in our train car's heating system that sparked a fire 8 rows in front of my sleeping children? The good, the bad, the negligent..sounds like the makings of a motto.

We made it Tennessee and were greeted by cousins and family we hadn't seen in a couple of years. Always good to be home, not just in place, but in the company of those we belong to by birthright. I wonder sometimes what our children's memories will be about family. Will they grow up feeling rootless because their extended family was not everpresent? My prayer is that they grow up understanding that some family is chosen by God for us at birth, other family members are given to us as gifts along the way through friendships.

Our stay in Tennessee was gloriously extended for a week due to a freak snowstorm in Chattanooga and a very typical snowstorm in New Hampshire. I have some ideas about why we were blessed with one more week, but I'll not stare too long at the reason why, instead just accept the gift of it all.