The Wedding Cake in the Middle of the Road

We had been on this trip for a long time. Time, however, seems to take on a relativism based on what you’re doing at the moment. “Time flies…” well, you know the cliché. Anyway, as we journeyed, we had the usual moments of agreement, disagreement, and silence. We would laugh and time would seem to speed by or get into an argument and it would crawl. Nonetheless, we just kept on going because it was easier than stopping, and we had much invested in the excursion.

We also had the kids to consider. We made a promise and gave them every reason to expect that we’d follow through. They had arguments of their own, but to us, they just seemed to be of the typical brother and sister assortment. If we expected these, then why did ours carry so much more weight? Maybe it was because we were in control and realized that we could end this trip whenever we chose. The kids, however, were just dealing with problems on their scale. Not that their altercations were any less emotional, but they knew that they couldn’t merely open the door and get out.

As we traveled, I looked at people beside us and wondered what their trips were like. Did they just begin? Or have they been on the road for awhile? How was their journey going? Many times, all you can do is look at their expressions and make inferences from there. It was tempting to think that if the people next to us at a particular moment were smiling, then they must always be smiling. Unfortunately, I knew this wasn’t so. Others on the road could just as easily glimpse us in a moment of laughter, and if they assumed that that was the only mood during our traveling, they’d be completely lost. What if some people only laugh ten percent of the time and that happens to be the moment you are looking over at them?

That was the reality that closed in on us. It’s not that we were traveling too fast, but that we weren’t paying attention to where we were going or appreciating the journey. Rather, we focused on some ideal destiny that didn’t exist. Because of this, neither of us saw the three-tiered wedding cake in the middle of the road. The last thing I remember is the feeling of regret that we smashed it, and the kids not being able to understand.