[6/28/12] So very proud to be an American.

Last Wednesday Penelope's transmission died.

Died as in D.E.A.D.

No chance whatsoever of resuscitation.

Thankfully, Parker made it home from work and she died in our driveway.

She had her second towing in a week. Her water pump died the week before when Parker got to work. That was her first tow.

It's been kind of a long month in some ways ($$).

My sister wondered if it was time to maybe permanently retire Penelope. Which is a thought I had Wednesday night when John told me Penelope's transmission was dead. 

I thought he was kidding and that it wasn't a very funny joke, seeing as how we'd just replaced her water pump the week before.

But he wasn't kidding.

But we figure that Penelope's had pretty much everything major replaced (except her engine, and if that dies, well, I think we'll have a very nice memorial service and send her to a permanent car retirement establishment, i.e. junkyard), so we should just keep her and hope she hangs on until at least when the kids go back to BYU-Idaho in September. Although she is very welcome to hang on as long as possible.

Because next year (as in a year from now), Kailen can drive to early morning seminary and school.

Which is a definite plus.

Because of this last issue, John and I have become the "Getting All Three Kelley Kids To Work Every Day Taxi Service."

(It's kind of been a long week).

Thankfully, John was in town until yesterday and so he took Parker to work and picked him up most of the time. Parker's place of employment is 30 minutes away. With no traffic.  There is rarely no traffic here. It's either slightly heavy, kind of heavy, heavy, or really heavy. Sometimes even really, really heavy. And some people drive like maniacs - darting in and out.

Kam's place of employment is 20 minutes away - in the other direction - with no traffic.

Kailen works at John's office a few hours a few days a week, which is 5 minutes away, so that hasn't been a big deal.

And to hope that they all don't get off work at the same time, and figuring out how to pick them all up so no one's left hanging out after work alone, has been quite the daily puzzle to solve.

Last night and tonight I got to spend 3 1/2 hours driving around picking up kids from work.  I wouldn't mind it as much if I didn't have to deal with the Atlanta traffic. It is awesome.  And it totally stresses me out.

Totally.

If I had to drive in it everyday I would seriously contemplate slitting my wrists.

Well, that may be a bit overly dramatic, but you get the point.

It is stress-ful. 

Full. of. stress.

Even the regular roads are packed with traffic.  I prayed every time before I left home that I would get back home safely.

And all these prayers were answered.

And even though I got to spend a lot of time in the car, it was a blessing to be able to spend some uninterrupted, I have their attention because there were no other distractions, chatting kind of time with them. 

We had some good talks.

Anyways.

Back to the title of this post.

When I'd bring Parker home from work we'd take the back roads because I-85 was at the worst-traffic-of-the-day stage.

No, thank you.

The first time I brought him home I noticed the most amazing thing along the sides of the road when we entered Duluth:

I borrowed this picture from a City of Duluth website because it was not convenient, in the least, to stop and take a picture.

I was afraid I'd be hit by a car. Or something.

These flags and crosses lined the streets of Duluth. Not just the major streets we were on, but the side streets too.

Each cross has the name of a fallen soldier and the war they fought in stamped on it.

I even saw a cross with "Civil War" stamped on it, and another one with "Spanish American" stamped on it.

The sight of these crosses, with the American flag waving in the wind, was pretty emotional for me. And my eyes brimmed with tears.

It was a very visual representation of the sacrifices others have made so I can enjoy the freedoms I have every. single. day.

I am so very thankful for the sacrifices of every single military person, especiallly those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. I'm also very thankful for the sacrifices their families give for our freedom.

I don't know if these crosses stay up all year long.

But I hope so.

Because I don't think it's right to only remember these fallen soldiers at Memorial Day, or Veteran's Day, or July 4th.

I think they should be remembered every. single. day.

*Images courtesy of Microsoft Clipart Gallery and duluth.patch.com (used by permission)