"It will only be until May."
Those words echoed in my mind as another motorist passed me leaving behind a blur of cherry red paint racing toward the places I just left behind. It will be a couple more days until I return, which will make my weekly journey complete.
I was amazed at how fast nine months flew by and yet my situation hadn't changed. My hope began to fade into days of monotony and despair when May came and went, now September was only a few days away.
Leaving my wife home alone with a newborn baby was hard and confusing, intensifying as each week passed.
"Bye sweetheart, I will call you when I get there." I whispered as I held back tears.
What happens if there is an accident? What will she do? These questions always haunted me. I couldn't do this any longer, but there didn't seem to be any way out. Just one variable kept me grounded to this all too familiar road. We needed health insurance, but employment was thin.
"I'm half way there." I said to myself and then let out a sigh.
My attention from the gray endless road was wearing thin. As I lifted my eyes for some rest they found the passing landscape caressed by the soft golden glow of the sunset. Suddenly I found myself distracted and awake. My eyes bounced over the landscape. I pressed my body against the steering wheel trying to look around the top edge of what the windshield wouldn't yield to let me see. I didn't want to miss this magical moment. Putting my truck to rest on the skirt of the road, I began to feel my heart pound with anticipation as I rummaged for my camera gear. Leaping out across a field to a spot of inspiration I hurried to set up and without hesitation began to capture moment after moment after moment until the sun exhausted itself behind the distant hills.
I took a deep breath, "That was amazing!"
As I rolled to my final destination the odometer clicked 300 miles. I gently pulled the parking brake, turned the ignition off and reflected on my journey. For the first time it wasn't a loss, but a saving grace.
From that moment on I was doing more than adding 300 miles to my odometer. I was also creating a story of images of my journey 300 miles home.