The past month has been a mixture of joy and sorrow for me. As many of you know, my mother passed away unexpectedly on April 4th. My family has been dealing with the loss as best we can, and in typical Doyle fashion, using humor to get through the rough patches.
On a lighter note, one of the highlights from earlier in the month was my trip to Dayton Ohio for the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop conference. I had one of the best times of my life meeting many of my online blogger friends and taking educational courses to improve my writing skills. Since I don't fly, I convinced dear ol' Hubs to drive me again this year, just like he did for the last conference in 2014 (you can read all about it HERE). Being trapped in a car together for 19 hours spurred many an interesting conversation and quite a bit of binge eating. When I wasn't napping or stuffing my face with Pringle's chips and peanut M&Ms, Hubs and I enjoyed the scenery around us. I received some strange looks from people at truck stops when I climbed out of the car with my purple hair, but all in all, we had a great time.
If you had been a fly on the wall in our car during the road trip, here are some tidbits of conversation you would have overheard:
"You know you're old when you have to drive with a knee brace on."
"I think the GPS is drunk. It keeps getting us lost. It needs its own GPS."
"How am I supposed to eat this gooey sandwich while driving at the same time? It's like trying to hold a sloppy joe behind the steering wheel. Half of the goop ends up in my lap."
"Well, at least you'll have some leftovers on your shorts for later in case you get hungry again."
"Why is it that when we leave the state of Florida, all the radio stations only play oldies music?"
"Because we're fossils who still remember all the lyrics. Most of these singers are already dead....someone must be trying to tell us something."
"Can't you drive any faster up this mountain road?"
"I'm driving a Prius, what do you expect? It's like driving a car powered by hamsters. When someone asks me if it's a four cylinder, I tell them, 'No, it's a four hamster.' And right now, I think one of them just died going up this mountain side."
"I'm an emotional drinker, and you are seriously stressing me out during this road trip. Oh look! A pub!"
"Good to know I won't need to call 911 now."
"We need to lay off on the bean burritos. This car can only handle so much gas. "
"At least it's not just one of us doing it. My farts are responding to your farts."
"Yeah---we're sharing fart emojis."
" We need to get an RV and take more road trips. We could retire early and live off our savings."
"That sounds great, but what will we do for money the following week?"
"Sometimes there just aren't enough curse words invented to meet my demands after a day like today."
"What do you mean I'd be lousy at camping? I'm an outdoorsy type of guy."
"Only if your tent comes with a large cooler full of beer."
"My legs and knees are so sore and stiff from sitting in the car for five hours, I can barely stand. It's a good thing no one is trying to rob us at gun point right now, because I wouldn't be able to run. I'd just hand over my wallet and tell them they're welcome."
THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU GO OUT OF TOWN AND YOUR FOUR-YEAR-OLD GRANDDAUGHTER GETS AHOLD OF YOUR MAKEUP KIT
Buzz around the homes of some of these other participating FOW bloggers and see what you think!
Baking In A Tornado http://www.bakinginatornado.com/2016/04/fly-on-wall-can-you-count-to-one.html
Juicebox Confession http://www.juiceboxconfession.com
Menopausal Mother http://www.menopausalmom.com/
Someone Else’s Genius http://www.someoneelsesgenius.com
Spatulas on Parade http://spatulasonparade.blogspot.com/2016/04/walnut-energy-bites-and-fotw-april-2016.html
Searching for Sanity http://singlemumplusone.blogspot.com
Never Ever Give Up Hope http://batteredhope.blogspot.com
Dinosaur Superhero Mommy http://dinoheromommy.com/
Not That Sarah Michelle http://notthatsarahmichelle.blogspot.com
Southern Belle Charm http://www.southernbellecharm.com
My Brain on Kids http://mybrainonkids.net
Go Mama O http://www.gomamao.com
The Angrivated Mom http://www.angrivatedmom.wordpress.com/
She had a fabulous time with your makeup! How did it hold up:)?
ReplyDeleteAlmost TOO good, LOL!
DeleteI'm so so sorry about your mother.
ReplyDeleteYou sure know how to mix the good with the bad though---those quips are hilarious!!
jodie
www.jtouchofstyle.com
#midlifeblogger
Thanks, Jodie. Humor as always gotten me through the worst of times.
DeleteHysterical, as always, Marcia! No boring road trips in YOUR household!!!
ReplyDeleteNever a dull moment with us--even on the road for 19 hours.
DeleteO K ..... you had me at "I don't fly." Still trying to figure that one out and where is the purple hair? As much as the loss of your mom is difficult to cope with, I am glad you had such a great time at the conference.
ReplyDeleteYep, no planes for me. You can get a good shot at the purple hair in the 6th photo down. Small towns in the midwest did not care for my look at the rest stops.....
DeleteI need glasses! I thought that was something behind you LOL
DeleteHahahaha! My hair was blending in!
DeleteOMG! Her face! LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it hilarious? I really need to make a meme out of that one....
DeleteSounds like you had a flatulous time on that car ride. Yes, I did just make up that word. Think it'll catch on?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite line this month is "That sounds great, but what will we do for money the following week?"
That money comment is the story of our life. I read it somewhere and now I always use that line on Hubs because it is SO TRUE. And yes, I think the word Flatulous should catch on in no time!
DeleteSo sorry to hear about your mom's passing. My condolences.
ReplyDeleteYou HAVE to have a sense of humor on that long of a road trip!
Thank you, Cathy! I have to keep my sense of humor in these situations or else I'll go insane!!!
DeleteI wish I was there at Erma's, I totally envy you Marcia! I mean look at you ladies having so much fun. The list is of course hilarious, as usual! xx Abby
ReplyDeleteIt was a blast! Thanks, Abby!
DeleteYep. Humour gets us through! Loved this. I seriously think we could travel with you. But without the burritos . . .
ReplyDeleteHAHAHAHA!!!!! I adore you, Diane!
DeleteMarcia, I am sorry for the loss of your mom xox
ReplyDeleteI am glad you got to go to the Erma Bombeck convention ... I totally understand the knees issues... mine don't work the way I want them either, I wouldn't want to have to make a quick get away either... it wouldn't happen. (My purple hair gets a lot of looks too... I just smile :)
I love your purple hair. We need to get together and freak people out, hahahaha!
DeleteI know you all are having a blast! I'm glad you got to go and enjoy yourself and I am horribly sorry that you had to come home to such awful news.
ReplyDeleteIt was a riot but so hard to come home and deal wth losing Mum.
DeleteMy daughter got into my make up one morning while I was having a lie in and she looked pretty similar to your granddaughter. I still haven't replaced the whole bag of make up she smeared over her face and body that day, and it was three years ago...
ReplyDeleteToo funny! I still giggle when I look at this picture of her. ..
DeleteY'all are too funny!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you had a good time at ERMA.
It was a blast and I miss it already!
Deletelove her smile, she's so proud of her makeup designs! Nothing says true love like farting together.
ReplyDeleteRight?!?
DeleteI think I'll use the 'I'm an emotional drinker' line!
ReplyDeleteYou and I are two peas in a pod!
Delete