Journey through December - Overtime

The drive from Houston to Dallas was indeed interesting.  Fortunately the rain didn’t last long.  Although it came down boots and hats, almost everything in the truck bed was packed in plastic so nothing was damaged. The upside-down furniture was packed in so tight that the rain couldn’t even get to the table tops.  I looked on with relief as Paul unstrapped them when we got to Dallas and I saw the wood was fine.  After all the craigslist searching, it would have been quite the disappointment to arrive at the Ranch with damaged goods.

But it wasn’t time to go to the Ranch yet.  It was a different kind of Cowboy time.  Dallas Cowboys.  Football.  In Jerry’s House.  Sunday afternoon in a Suite with grand food, a fabulous view of the field and best of all our children and theirs with us.  ALL of our children, together under one roof, for the first time since our wedding day.  It was only December 16^th but Christmas had already come for me.  The older grandchildren were there too, as well as Sally and Jim, beloved sister and brother-in-law.  My heart was full and my eyes were brimming; what a grand day.

My biggest desire was to get a group picture of all of our children together.  As I watched everyone go in and out of the suite, going down to the field or out to explore the stadium, I began to think that would never happen.  How could I corral everyone one into one area at one time?  Fortunately, daughter-in-law Carri came to my rescue and managed to make it happen.  She’s a get-it-done kind of gal.  That photo still makes me smile today – Craig & Kerry, Chris & Dawn, Heather & Steve, Laura & Craig, Walter, John and Carri – and amazingly you can see all the faces and all of them are smiling.  Really. Big. Deal.

Another cool shot is the one of Grandpa with his kids and grands, down on the field.  His gorgeous red sweater stands out against the blue and white worn by the others, happiness written all over his face.  Not to mention the picture of the Robinson kids, in which Heather clearly stands out as the most beautiful :)

The fact that the game ended in an exciting overtime, Cowboys 27 – Steelers 24, was gravy.  I was raised on God, Dallas Cowboys and Dr. Pepper so it was truly a banner day for me.  It was after dark when the game ended, so we assembled in our various cars and threaded our way through the parking lot to the freeway.  By the time we got back to Sally & Jim’s where we had parked our Jed Clampitt truck, it was after 9:30.  We still had over an hour drive to the Ranch but neither of us wanted to wait.

This was the big week we had been waiting for, planning for over a year.  We gave our thanks and hugs to the Nations, then I hopped into the driver’s seat and started the engine.  Grandpa would get a short nap while I headed north east to Ben Wheeler.  No rain, no freeway, just open road on a clear night with stars in the sky and smiles in our hearts.  Soon we would be at the Ranch, and our children and grandchildren would see the results of months of effort, some of them for the first time.