the silver lining

Well, we were rained out at Mt. Rushmore. The fireworks show was cancelled due to inclement weather and we managed to get out ahead of most of the traffic, all of the 20,000 people that came to see it. It didn’t take long for us to find the silver lining in our gloomy day. As we drove through the rain, lightning sprayed the sky and thunder clapped. Dakota sitting in the front between Gary and me, began twisting in the seat. She had that smile on her face that I’ve seen almost every time she poses for a photo. I asked her, “Baby, why are you wiggling so?” Her reply was straight from the voice of God. She said, “I’m posing for God, He’s taking my picture!” It’s moments like these that erase the many miles of “she hit me” and “he pooted again” or the two questions that if I’ve heard them once, I’ve heard them a million times….”have we been here before?” and “are we there yet?” All in all we are doing well. I write this as we are crossing the border between South Dakota and Wyoming. It’s about 12:30am Texas time and the ride is quiet, admittedly another answered prayer.

One thing we did was drive all through Mt. Rushmore area, so I was able to get a few good pictures of the mountain itself and we drove into the town of Keystone. It was a traffic nightmare, but we weren’t in any hurry, so we muddled along and eventually found a parking spot. We dined at a family restaurant, a little on the pricy side, but it did the trick. We stopped in a place called Professor Samuel’s and had our annual family portrait made. Any of you who know me very well, you know that I am always looking for something different and this was just the thing that called my name. Papa decided he didn’t want to go through all the costume change so he sat this one out, just taking in the scenery. (no we didn’t leave him unattended, lol, although I’m sure he don’t mind the break once in a while). For our photo, we stepped back in time. Gary became Marshal Dillon and I was Ms. Kitty. I think we can all safely guess who Festus was. As for the girls, well they filled their part as supporting actresses. Now, before any of you have a conniption fit, the bottles were already empty. This not only made for a fun family picture, but it also gave us the chance to explain the character of such individuals as well as giving them an edited lecture about alcohol. As a homeschool family it is important that we teach and learn lessons when the opportunity allows. After looking back at the picture, I giggled as I thought about what a conversation piece this would be on the wall of a future parsonage….one must enjoy the irony in it.