Consider the buffalo

I'm sitting in the passenger seat, staring out the window at the gorgeous, rolling hills of Nebraska. We are approaching South Dakota. Have we really been gone 3 weeks? 12 states! Wow. And there is still so much more to see.   

The demon that posessed Oliver's little body has left. Alex is happily working his way through the last of the sunflower seeds. (Is it odd to find his spitting the shells out attractive?) Everything is right again. The funk is gone. Well done, everyone, making us laugh. It definitely helped.

I'm feeling warm and fuzzy this morning. (Note to self: it's time to shave your legs again.) My heart fills full. I read c-janes blog (who doesn't?) this morning and took her advice. I stood with Oliver in the middle of our "home" and we danced ourselves silly. I feel lucky to love and be loved today. Oliver and I have really bonded on this trip. I wish that I could replay every moment we've shared in the past three weeks. I've laughed and cried so much over how much I adore him. He forces me to live in the moment, to slow down, to play. 

Case in point...
Wyoming is huge. Rather, it felt huge. Sort of like we would never be able to drive far enough to leave it. Along the way, we saw herds of antelope grazing quite close to the highway. The first herd we saw was special. Special enough to pull over and take pictures of. The second herd was almost as special as the first. The third and fourth, well, we just pointed at those. After that I started to not even notice them. They blended in with the scenery and the dozens of cow herds. Hours went by. Ollie came up front and sat on my lap (to snuggle and break the law, yes.) He started pointing at the antelope with grand excitement. He also pointed at the cows with as much enthusiasm as he had when we saw the first herd of antelope. 

I heard myself say, "those are just cows honey." 

He said, "No! Look!"

I looked. 

He was right. There in the field was a huge herd of buffalo! I had become an antelope snob, a mama who ignored cows. Was I already beginning to take this adventure for granted? Shame on me. 

My sweet Ollie opens my eyes. He reminds me to SEE the buffalo. I feel a new excitement this morning. I mean c'mon, I'll be standing in front of Mt Rushmore in less than an hour. I can't wait to see it. And all the cows along the way.

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