Warning!

If you've been following this blog for a little while you may know that the town where we currently reside is small. Not only is it small, but it is far from many things. In any direction it takes about 30 minutes to get to fast food restaurants, Wal-mart, drugstores, etc. Sure, we have an IGA in town and a drugstore. We even have a Subway and a Hungry Howie's that is less than a year old. But, unless you want to pay a hiked price, it is not unusual to wait until you can make a trip to "town." This can be frustrating when you forgot the chocolate chips you need for that recipe or the gallon of milk you have to have for cereal in the morning. It is a little like this:


There are a couple of schools of thought when it comes to this inconvenience. One is that you just suck it up and make your lists and when you do make it to town you just get anything and everything you need for eternity. Well, not quite, but you get the drift.

You can also just let it get to you and dread it when you have to go, knowing you'll be gone for hours and inevitably forget something.

On any given day I can belong to one of these schools of thoughts.

Not only is it far to get to where you need to go, but that 20-30 minute drive takes place on a two lane highway lined with trees, trees, and more trees. If you're reading this and you are from around my hometown you might say, "Well Melissa, it takes about that long to get to St. Louis. What's the big deal?" The big deal is that the 20-30 minutes it takes to get to St. Louis includes changing scenery and highways that, can you believe, have curves in them! The same time it takes to get to Panama City from Wewa is not the same time it takes to drive to St. Louis.

I've said all of that to say this. Last week we were driving back to Wewa after having been out on one of our mammoth trips. It was dark (no streetlights on the road back to Wewa, of course) and it was bedtime for Addie. As hard as Sabian was working to pacify her with goldfish crackers and silly faces, our girl was done for the day, and so were we. As a result, I was driving - fast.

Now, I've always driven a little fast, and at one point in my life, as I was being pulled over by the diligent cop just doing his job, I would pray that it had been at least a year since my last ticket. Times have changed and while I still tend to drive on the fast side I can't recall when I last had a ticket. I will add that I've never cried or rattled off a sob story to get out of a ticket and only once in my high speed experiences was I given a warning.

So here we were, making our way back to Wewa as quickly as possible in an effort to preserve our sanity and get Addie to bed. All was dark in the opposite direction until...those stinkin' blue and red lights popped on, turned around, and played a game of follow the leader.

To make this long story short, I was let off with a warning. No doubt due to Addie's cries from the back seat, pleading with the lady officer to let her mommy go so we could get home. Those cries sure took on a sweet sound in a hurry.

Needless to say, I am watching my speed, but I'll admit it is difficult. What else is there to do on that long, straight, tree-lined highway back to the swamp? I suppose it is better than having to pay for a ticket. Which, I'm sure, I'd have to drive that same, long, 30 minutes to pay. Good riddance.

I am thankful for the merciful officer that let us go that night. Thanks to Addie, too!