Alabama road trip

The unofficial start to summer has begun! And of course, this means a little travel. First on the list: meeting up with my son, Jack, after he completed another semester at Auburn. The itinerary went something like this:

1. Fly to Atlanta

2. Drive to Auburn

3. Move TV from fraternity to a friend's house

3. Fill the jeep with gas

4. Commence road trip

The drive begins easily enough. Jack and I turn up the radio and hop on the highway. About an hour down the road, we exit the four-lane part of our journey and begin the two-and-a-half-hour trek on two-lane Alabama back roads. 

Once on the back roads, Jack tells me that it's now time to execute the finger wave. This is when you slowly raise your index and middle fingers off the steering wheel and give a friendly wave to the locals (it is imperative that the hand never leaves the wheel--otherwise it is not a finger wave). 

Driving these country roads, we pass countless acres of timber. We see lots of houses donning national championship flags for either Alabama or Auburn (the count seemed pretty even). We even pass through Brantley, the front porch city of Alabama. And just when we think we've seen it all, we pass through Sweet Home (think Lynyrd Skynyrd). Of course, no road trip through Alabama would be complete without a stop at the Chicken Shack in Luverne, so we stop for a spell and partake of a little Alabama-style fried chicken. 

As it becomes dark, we are nearing our destination--the beach! It's been a full day, but so worth it. Road trips are one of life's wild and wonderful experiences. Where are you road tripping this summer?

The amazing and incredible roly-poly story

"It was an ordinary day. Didn't seem like anything special was going to happen. We strolled outside, Mom and I. We were just walking around -- kinda exploring. 

"And then we saw him. The roly-poly. I had never seen one before. He was amazing. He curled up when I touched him. Then when he thought I was done touching him, he uncurled and started moving along the sidewalk. Cool!

"I'm excited for tomorrow to see what kind of discoveries we will make. But I can't imagine anything nearly as incredible as a roly-poly!"

(As told by Max--if he could talk in sentences!)

Today, try to see something ordinary--something you might take for granted--through new eyes. And be sure to let me know what you see!

May Day, Panera and Lorraine

May Day is one of my favorite days of the year. So, when my friend Char and I chose to have breakfast at Panera on May 1, I decided to "May Day" her -- I brought her flowers.  When I walked in the restaurant with the flowers, Char smiled and said, "It's May Day." This is one of the things I love about Char; she "gets" me. It seems like we enjoy celebrating the same things.

We placed the bouquet on the table and proceeded to enjoy our time together. That's when we met Lorraine. Lorraine works as a hostess at Panera. She greets people, takes plates away when customers are finished with their meals, and refills drinks. 

But mostly, Lorraine blesses people. When she noticed the flowers, Lorraine stopped at our table and wished us a happy May Day. We struck up a conversation and in no time at all, the three of us were friends. As we visited with Lorraine, she shared her story with us. It's amazing, and if you want to know more, you will just have to visit the Panera at College and Metcalf and ask her yourself. 

But here's what I want to share with you about Lorraine. She truly lives a wild and wonderful life. Here's how: She believes her job is a ministry to share God with others. She's not pushy, she's genuine. Here's what Lorraine told us, "Every face I meet gives me the chance to bless people." And it worked. Char and I were totally blessed by meeting Lorraine. 

Before long, it was time to go. Lorraine hugged and kissed us good bye and told us we were beautiful. Wow. 

Blessed, we reluctantly walked to our cars, and wondered--how were we so lucky to meet Lorraine at Panera on May Day?