Tales of the Ordinary Days

Selfie attempt at Hy-Vee to memorialize Matt's last purchase as a Nebraska resident (note that Matt was supposed to be in the picture) My brother, Matt, moved out of Omaha this morning. He began his 20 hour road trip to Kingman, Arizona at about 5:30 a.m. With car loaded to the hilt and fresh off of a going-away party from last night, there were few words between us. Just a quick hug and wave. And then he was gone. Life changes just keep marching on in my life and this is another biggie. My brothers and I grew up close in age and close in life. Matt is the oldest and I am the youngest. There is only 28 months between our birthdays with our brother, Mark, born in between. Being so close in age, we shared friends, teachers and experiences through our childhood years. I have often said that birth order rules don't apply to us. There is one thing the three of us share and that is a sense of humor. We fought our way through childhood, constantly trying to outwit each o...

And the road trip begins... Purportedly I'm bossy. But that's coming from my brother. So what if I like the car at optimal temperature while we travel across Nebraska? It's not my fault that his car doesn't have a good temperature between really cold and really hot. If you feel it, say it. So when I was cold, I told him. And when I was hot, I did the same. It's his car, so climate control is his responsibility. But he just gave me the stink eye as we traveled west across Nebraska on Interstate 80. Acting like we annoy each other, but loving every minute of our time together on the road. Eight hours. Three comfort stops. Two thunderstorms. And his daughter (my niece), Ky, sleeping in the back seat through it all. Matt and I just bantered in the front. Just like old times. I love road trips. Especially with family. When Matt and Ky decided to visit us in Denver for the weekend and Matt asked that I join them for the drive out, I was all in. With my oldest ...