Back

Well, I'm back after a long, hard, road trip into hell and back. With a pit stop in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

First, a little background. My father and mother divorced when I was seven. Since then I have only seen him for about 2 weeks every year. This still holds true even though my mother lives in Idaho and my father lives 20 minutes away. Anyway. The divorce was ugly. My father decided he didn't want a wife and children anymore, so he packed us up and shipped us to grandma's house. Nice. Since that time, he has found it necessary to bad mouth my mother any chance he gets. You may be asking how much brain damage I suffered in order to agree to spend 7 days, in a row, in a car, with him. Because I am a glutton for punishment. And I keep hoping he will miraculously change and become the father I always wanted (cue Oscar inducing music here). He is pretty well off and has always made sure we got what we wanted. Physically, not emotionally.

The trip started off okay. My baby girl is an awesome traveler. She loves car rides and can eat sitting in a carseat. So she was content as long as we stopped every so often to change her super absorbent diaper (thank you Huggies). It was me who fell apart by day 3. I was tired of hearing my step-(monster) mother tell me how I would have turned out if she had raised me and I was tired of having a numb butt from sitting in the backseat of a 1984 Lincoln Continental (looks comfy, but trust me, it ain't). Fortunately, that was about the time I got dropped off with kid in tow at my mother's house.

Mom's was a blast. Sure, baby had her moments. But, overall she was happy and we found her a very stylish hat. I actually cried when I had to leave. I don't think my dad found that as heartfelt and warm as my mom did. Teehee (I know, I'm a vindictive brat).

Lessons learned: don't agree to drive out of state with father again, try to make it to Idaho more often, and realize that people don't change the way you want them too.