Acro

We stayed a night in Glen Rose, Texas, as part of a larger road trip. We were an hour from home, but we wanted to break up the drive. Our four kids were 5 and under, so everything took effort. The extra loading/unloading was not a simple choice.

Unpacking the minivan, I noticed people with umbrellas along the edge of a creek. We got situated and walked back to see what was going on. Several paleontologists were excavating recently uncovered footprints in the creek area. We chatted about what they had found. They invited our two older children to help brush away the debris from the fossils.

We stopped at a local museum on a different trip to Broken Bow in Oklahoma. It was small but well-appointed. There were artifacts from Indigenous people, many different animals, and a multi-story reconstruction of an Acrocanthosaurus dinosaur, or Acro for short.

On the drive to our cabin, we saw a small sign in a yard labeled “Rock Shop.” The yard belonged to a small house. We parked beside the house and followed the signs around the back. Inside the garage was a fantastic rock and fossil store. The owner was so excited to see young kids interested in his collection—which he reminded me was for sale.

He asked my oldest if he knew anything about dinosaurs. Chase exclaimed, “I just got to see Acro!” The owner’s face warmed with a smile. He opened a nearby binder and pointed to a picture. “I found that Acro not too far from here.”

For too long, road trips were about getting there as efficiently as possible. Simply slowing down has created many magical moments. Sometimes, my whole life becomes a road trip. I put my head down and plow through, missing so much. Where I am going may be important, but so is how I get there.

Am I heading towards where I need to be? Am I paying attention along the way? Will I make time for the rock shop?

Be curious, be kind, be whole, do good things.