Around the Bend

My husband's family and some of my family live on the East Coast. We have traveled the Pennsylvania Turnpike more times than I can count, through good weather and bad, winter and summer, on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. The way is so familiar that we can name the tunnels, Kittatiny, Allegheny, Blue, Tuscarora. We know where the better rest stops are, when to get off for gas, how much longer until we get there. Although the way is long, the prize at the end is worth the trip. Hugs from nieces and nephews, a kiss from my mother, Capriotti's subs, fresh seafood. Sometimes, the trip is made to celebrate a holiday or wedding. Sometimes to grieve at a funeral. Over the years the road has improved some, the restaurants have changed, or closed. But the trip itself still holds the same power, when, after hours of driving tedium, the exit appears. Just around a bend in the road, the long awaited green sign with huge letters appears, pointing the way to almost there. Our hearts lift, the last hour flies by, and we are in the arms of those we love. That is how it always is, we keep looking for that bend, when the hard becomes easy and the long way ends in joy.