Make Good Time
by Tanner Olson
writtentospeak.com

Every time I travel back to Central Florida I leave feeling more like myself.
The sun does what it always does: changes me.  
My heart is lighter and my skin is darker.
The sun melts my worries and hides my to-do list and drills barrels of happiness from somewhere deep in my soul.

I hate leaving.
And perhaps that is why we wake up well before the day begins.
Well, that and to make good time. 

There is no point in putting off leaving.
Sometimes you just gotta get up and go. 
We packed up our Honda Accord, hugged my family goodbye, and we were gone.
We were on the road a good two hours before the sun decided to wake up and show its face. 

It is exactly 709 miles from the house I grew up in to the house I am now growing up in.

Sarah and Pancake slept for the first two hours of the drive back to our home in Nashville.
I clutched the steering wheel as the music softly played through the speakers.
I set the speed to 77 and got lost in my early morning thoughts, replaying the few days we had with family and friends.
I’m great at getting lost in my own head.
I guess you could say I’ve made a career out of it.
I thought and prayed and wondered and made a mental note to never forget the look on my nephew’s face as we laughed and laughed the night before.

Somewhere near Gainesville I spilled hot coffee in the place you don’t want to spill hot coffee.
Thank God for layers.
I slowed down to 74 MPH to get a longer glimpse of the sun coming up over the hills of North Florida.
It was a picture perfect view: cows eating the dew covered grass as the sunlight scared the fog away. 
I switched from coffee to water and a handful of miles later I had to use the bathroom.
It’s hard to believe hydration is important while also being gifted a small bladder.

We stopped at a Buc-ee’s somewhere in Georgia.
If you are trying to make good time, this is the place to stop. Buc-ee’s is the Targets of gas stations. It has everything you need and everything you didn’t know you needed. There are hundreds of gas pumps and toilets and all of them are clean. They have coffee and candy and clothing and Fruity Pebbles Rice Crispy Treats. No, I am not getting paid for this Buc-ee’s advertisement, I’ve just been won over.

However, even the best things come with a downside. There was a man holding a python outside the entrance. It was wrapped around his torso and neck and I screamed internally. This was not something Mr. or Mrs. Buc-ee knew about. I know what this man was thinking: If people can walk their dogs here, I can carry my python. People were lined up to pet the snake and this just confirmed my belief that people are nuts. Have you ever seen a snake before? Nothing about a snake says, pick me up and pet me.

I grabbed a brisket sandwich and got out of there before the snake got loose.

Plus, I wanted to make good time.

We pushed on through the mountains of Georgia and Tennessee. Spring had arrived and everything around us that was once dead was coming alive. The reminder of Easter is all around us. Even when we forget. I grabbed another cup of coffee before we came to a slowdown in Chattanooga. We sat in traffic and reminded Pancake that this is where he was born. He had no idea what we were saying, but we said it in a way that made him think something exciting was happening.

A little while later we got the hour back that we lost on the way south a few days earlier. I drank another bottle of water to balance out the coffee. The last hour of the drive my leg shook as I tried to not think about how badly I had to use the restroom.

We pulled into our driveway at 3:19 PM.

We were home, but somehow I was still 709 miles from home. 

At least we made good time.

With hope,

Tanner Olson
@writtentospeak

About the Author

Tanner Olson is an author, poet, speaker, and podcaster living in Nashville, Tennessee.

He is the author of I’m All Over the Place, As You Go, Walk A Little Slower, and Continue: Poems and Prayers of Hope.

You can find Tanner Olson’s books on Amazon.

His podcast is The Walk A Little Slower Podcast with Tanner Olson and can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.

Tanner Olson travels around the country sharing poetry, telling stories, and delivering messages of hope.

You can follow Tanner Olson on Instagram (@writtentospeak) and Facebook where you’ll daily find encouraging words of faith and hope.