How do we look at our world? The immediate world around us is sometimes only a bubble within a short distance of our work and home. Living in the metroplex of Atlanta, I have a somewhat larger bubble that I travel daily, and I’ve been putting on some mileage this summer exploring areas beyond my comfort zone. This last weekend marked a milestone in many ways for me. I drove about 785 miles with my daughter from Georgia to Texas, getting her set up in an apartment for a summer internship. She will graduate in August from Auburn University (yes, we know they have two mascots…you just don’t get it) with a degree in Radio, Film and Television. The only way we could figure out to get her car and her clothes there, was to drive it together, and then fly me back to Georgia. So we started off on what we called our “Excellent Adventure”.
The general idea is to get on I-20 and head west….we can pick that up right under the Atlanta name on the map for Georgia, and keep going until we come to the Dallas name on the map for Texas. We started off on a Saturday morning, and took our time driving through Alabama. We made a pit stop at the University of Alabama…just to see what all the fuss was about…and agreed we’d made the right choice for her with Auburn. Good thing as she does graduate this August! The Mapquest said to “go through Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, entering Texas…”with no further instructions. We didn’t even turn on the navigator for quite a while. We talked constantly, making stops at every State Line Rest Area….and made a wonderful discovery in Mississippi! They have decorated their rest area welcome center to look like a parlor in a southern town! Complete with lace draperies, and cushy seating you can browse through the brochures of available sites in the state. As an interior designer, I was quite impressed with the decor. 
When we exited with brochures in hand, we did a few brisk laps around the site, and stumbled upon the best looking garbage enclosure I’d ever seen….and decided Helser Brothers could start a whole new line of decorative exterior hardware for ugly areas of the home!
We finally reached the Dallas, TX area and settled her into the apartment, then capped off the night with a margarita from a local restaurant and being the design guru I am, I marveled at the foyer of the restaurant. 
The central piece of art was backlit tequila bottles with the ends cut out…So original!
The following morning I watched her walk down the long highway towards the parking garage, and off into the Dallas traffic on her way to work….we both realized another milestone had been reached. My daughter grew up that morning into a working adult responsible for herself in a big city 798 miles from home. I’ve taught her a lot and she sees beautiful things all around her as she travels to and fro….what will she see tomorrow? I’ve taught her to look at the beauty of a different landscape, the backlighting of ordinary objects, and new ways to use ordinary things… How will you look at your world today?
Contributed by Cheryl Draa of Cheryl Draa Designs.
2 Comments
Helser is a winner for sure, I like how you can customize almost every piece of hardware, makes it easy to find something that will work for a challenging window.
I loved reading this. It reminded me of the trip my parents took with me as they delivered me to college and what an exciting and scary time it was. Turned out to be some of the best four years ever!
I think I might just need to plan a road trip myself…great article!