Plagued by wonderful memories

We haven't spent any time together in months. I only see you from a distance these days. Most nights, I lie awake in bed for hours, thinking of you. Sure, we've had our ups and downs, on and offs, alone time, together and apart but all I can think about are the good times, from the sand and sundowns of NorCal to the rocky shores in Boston to that nasty ass humidity in Georgia to... well, you get the picture.

I drift back to when we were alone for days at a time, all the beautiful places you took me, all the wonderful people and experiences we encountered along the way, from The Great Redwoods to Walden Pond, we were inseparable. I'll never forget the time we crossed the Rockies from Montana to Washington, we were lucky to get through Idaho alive, but knock on wood, you got me through another blizzard. We've seen our share of stormy weather.

Wherever I land after one of our adventures, if I start to feel cagey, which I always seem to do, you are right there to whisk me away from whatever is causing my discontent. You help me run and hide when I need to. You've seen my sleepy eyes by the dashboard lights so many times I can't remember. Listening to the radio, rambling endlessly about nothing in peticular then switching gears and solving the problems of the world, only to be forgotten by the end of the next ounce of sleep we steal in the Howard Johnson's parking lot or truck stop. You've seen me laugh, you've seen me cry, you've heard me sing along to the Golden Oldies station for hours at a time, relentless in my pursuit of the perfect song, one in my own unique key, somewhere between a Bb and an A or maybe a B#. Anyway, you never complained.

I'm back "home" now, if I can even call Chicago, or anywhere else for that matter, my home. I'm not sure how I feel about being here. I know it's the right thing to do, that's why I'm doing it, but I miss you badly. It's much worse at night, when I can't sleep, plagued by wonderful memories of us. Crazy, eh? Who would complain about fond memories???
Yours truly, apparently. I'm scared that maybe you were just this most fantastic chapter of my life, that is no more. I'm having trouble letting go. I don't want closure, I want you back but I know that isn't possible right now.

Hopefully this is all for the better.

In fact, I know it is! It's gotta be better for my babies to have me stick around... right???

You remember the babies. All the long nights we spent as a family, you kept us safe. I'd swear they're your children, how they sleep so sound under your watchful eye. I know they miss you as well but they're in school now and need to get their roots in and make some friends, join Girl Scouts, play peewee football, maybe even actually know their neighbors, but no need to fret, I have a feeling you'll be spending plenty of time with them in the future and maybe me again too. Que sera sera. Goodbye, for now, to my best girl, the highway.