Just like Canadian geese that hit the air in late fall or early winter, West Virginians wait until the last school bell rings for the year that marks the beginning of summer. Kids who for the whole school year couldn't be raised from their bed with the USC Trojan Marching Band playing Tusk, a stick of dynamite and threats of serious bodily injury to get up and get ready for school, were awake in great anticipation long before the parents head hit the pillow, exhausted from last minute planning and packing the car.
Dad is awakened from a sound sleep by Mom who says, "Honey. It's Time"! Through a daze and stupor he jumps out of bed, throws on his pants, grabs the dog runs out to the car and is half way down the road toward the hospital with visions of the birth of his newest child when it dawns on him that his wife who isn't pregnant, is back home waiting for him to return. Pulling into the driveway, he gets out and tells the dog, act like nothing happened; I'll slide this one by her.
The missus meets him at the door with a cup of coffee and a grin that would make The Joker look like a sour puss and asks how was his drive. He looks up, takes the coffee and says, "Oh, I forgot something for the trip and had to go to the convenience store while it was fresh in my mind." She chuckles and says "I guess you took the dog along for company?" "Well" replies Dad, "I won't see her for a few weeks and thought maybe a trip to the 7-11 would help ease the separation anxiety." Mom who by now is choking on her coffee tells Dad, "T-Minus 30 minutes and counting. If you have any visions of getting a shave and shower, you better hit the bathroom now, because in 10 minutes all 3 daughters are going to be in hand to hand combat for the sink, shower, blow dryer and mirror."
Mom tiptoes down the hall to the bedrooms to wake the kids, and as she gently opens the door she finds them all in one room sitting on a bed playing rock, paper, scissors to see who gets the coveted back seat ALONE in the mini-van. She finds out that not only have they been up for hours, they have packed their own suitcases, stored them in the van, eaten, after preparing a 4-Star breakfast, mowed the lawn and had goodbye conversations with all their close friends who are also migrating south to the same place of refuge!
These are the same kids who wouldn't wake up on school days even if they were dragged sleeping from their beds by a team of wild horses...pulled through the streets of their town....taken to a partially frozen lake and submersed several times. Go Figure!
In the van, Dad does a head count, and realizes that there are one too many people in the van. Doing the count again he finds that one is his neighbor's 12 year old son, sitting suitcase in hand in the back that earlier was seen as the only seat to have for the trip. The winning daughter is VERY, VERY miffed that her space has been invaded. In their rush to get out the door and beat the traffic, the neighbors left this one behind while he was playing Nintendo. He calls his neighbor on the cell phone and asks "You missing anything? Wallet? Map? Son?" Then wraps up the conversation with, "Don't worry, he can ride with us and we will meet up with you at the truck stop in Wytheville".
Coming out of the house, closing the door, Mom tells Molly the dog, who just a half hour earlier thought she was going to be part of the migration with her unexpected and rude awakening by dad for a short trip down the road, "You be good girl, we will come back soon, but in the meantime that nice woman Tilley will be coming by to feed and walk you." Mom, who is carrying so many two handled bags from Krogers, stuffed with enough junk food that she could feed Cox's Army has lost 3 inches in height just from the weight of the bags! She makes a mental reminder to check out a book at the library when she gets back on how the Chinese women use the long polls with baskets on either end to carry massive weights, and another book on the women of Mozambique and their ability to carry large parcels on their heads.....It could come in handy next time.
She stops, turns around, takes one last look then heads solemnly to the van. She realizes what in the beginning starts out as a fun, anticipated trip, will turn into a battlefield before they cross the WV /VA state line. She made sure though that she got all the prescriptions filled for the trip including the one that is dolled out for thousands of parents this time of year in WV, Valium, just for the annual migration south.
She turns to Dad and says "Okay, ready". They both smile at each other because like their parents before them and their parents before them, they are beginning their annual migration, children in tow to Myrtle Beach, SC and all points south, some even venturing as far south as DISNEY WORLD!
Yep, it's going to be a LONNNNNNNGGGGG migration!
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