“Alright Bonn,” my mom exhaled a large breath of built up tension. She paused and inhaled again, “I’m gonna take you to a special place.”

“Um… okay.” I agreed in my high-pitched seven year-old voice, as I climbed into the big red “soccer mom” van. Even though I was very young, I could still understand that she had a very hard day at work and all she wanted to do was sit in silence and think.

She forced a smile as she started the engine of the van and turned the wheel towards the road. The car slowly rolled out of the parking lot of my school.

We both yawned a couple times as we drove. Finally, we asked each other our routine questions.

“How was your day,” my mom asked me, “anything eventful?”

I answered, “It was good. I learned a ton about Mercury today. How was your day?”

“My day was fine.” Her body seemed to be running on an empty tank.

I wanted to make her feel better, “Mommy, I am sorry you had a bad day. Is there
anything I can do to help you?” I smiled at her. I usually knew what I could do or say to help her, since I was good at understanding people’s emotions.

She grinned, and it was a bit more real this time, “Thanks, honey. You always know what to do to make me happier.” She looked at me and then refocused her attention to the boring Illinois roads.

The roads were boring, so I had to keep myself busy with my Junie B. Jones book of the week. I had it stored in my backpack for unexciting times like this. I opened the little book and started on the first page.

I still had no idea where we were going, but it was not the right time to ask questions. The roads did not have trees arching over them or curl around mountain on the side. They were straight and plain, with corn fields on either side, going on and on for miles. The car turned to the right, but the curve did not bend like a winding road, it took a sharp ninety degree turn, like every corner in Illinois. The road continued on in a straight line for what seemed like a year to a seven year-old, but she finally spoke, “Five more minutes.”

Thank goodness, about time... Okay, that was mean, but we have been driving forever!!!

We drove for at least an hour, in real adult-time, but we finally made it to the special place that she had been talking about. Her red van took another sharp ninety degree turn onto a new type of driving surface, something bumpy. I had never experienced anything other than flat concrete.

“What is this? Are we driving on a bunch of rocks??” My voice shook from the car bumping around.

She nodded, “Yeah, actually, it’s called gravel, but it’s just an unpaved road. This is what many roads are like back in Vermont.” She sighed a deep sigh that caused her entire body to deflate. I sighed in empathy.

“Mommy, do you miss Vermont?”

“Yes, I do.” She slowly unbuckled her seat belt, opened the door, and climbed out of the car. She found her way easily to a big boulder in the center of the field.
I slid the van door open and jumped out onto the gravel and looked out.
This field was like nothing I had ever seen in Illinois before; it was green. Everything was full of life and there were even little animals scurrying around. Pink and blue flowers sprung up everywhere. It was alive. I could smell the freshness of the grass. I stepped out of the car and I could feel the soft cushion of the ground under me. There were birds chirping over by an oak tree, and I thought I saw a wise owl peeking out to greet me. I noticed smaller trees that surrounded the magnificent oak tree, that I imagined to be the big tree’s children. They were inspired by the big oak, and knew that one day they might be as tall and beautiful as their mother. I wandered for a while as I heard the crunch of the leaves. I tried to imagine humongous green mountains in the backdrop of the scene, like I had seen when we had visited New England.

My mom was still sitting in her own brew of silence, and I wanted to give her a few more minutes to think. I continued to admire the new environment, as I plopped on the grass and kicked off my shoes.

I looked up and noticed that the sky no longer had a slight gray tint, like the beginning of the Wizard of Oz. It was a pure blue sky. Wait. There were… one, two, three… Yes, three white cotton candy clouds. I could see the wind stirring the clouds slowly through the sky. The blueness complimented the green grass under my feet nicely. The sun was shining down on everything and filled the world with color that bounced into my eyes.

I slowly stood up from my little spot in the green grass, and sauntered over to my mom, “Hi?” I didn’t want to disturb her, but I wanted to talk to her.

“It’s okay. I’m not gonna bite!” She tried to lighten the mood, “I just had a hard day. Thank you for coming here with me.” She smiled and made a goofy face, so I knew she was better. Then she asked, “Do you like it?”
“Yes I really like it here. Thank you for bringing me to this special place.” I smiled as wide as I could, my cheeks bulged and I squinted my eyes. Then I sat criss-cross applesauce next to my mom on the boulder, “What makes it special?”

“It reminds me of Vermont, and I really miss it,” she murmured wistfully.

“I know, Mama.” I put my arm around her in an attempt to comfort her, but I wasn’t sure it actually helped her. “Will you ever move back there?”

“Yeah, I think so. Maybe in a few years or so.” She shrugged, grabbed my hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “I’m sorry I was so stressed earlier. I have been over-worked, and I don’t like my job anymore. I want to start my life over in Vermont soon.”

I smiled at her, “That’s a good-”

She stopped me mid-sentence, “Actually, maybe even less than a year.” A small grin came across her face again as if she were asking for my approval.

“Really?” I had been to Vermont once, but I was only three years old, so I had no memory of it. “Will I change schools? Will I have to make new friends? I’m gonna miss people so much.” Nathan was my best friend from Illinois. We did everything together. We swung on swing sets in my yard and we built forts out of pillows and blankets. We even planned to be married since we were three. I really didn’t want to lose him. I stopped mid-thought, “Would Dad move with us even though you are divorced?”

“Probably, but we wouldn’t live all together.” She wrapped me in both of her arms and gave me another tight squeeze. I nuzzled my head into her chest. “I know, Bonn, but you will like it. And…” she paused. “I understand people better there. You will love the green mountains and big trees.”

“Yeah, maybe,” I was scared of what Vermont might have in store for me. What if I don’t like the people? What if I don’t make friends? Many questions anxiously ran through my mind, but I couldn’t answer those at this time. I just had to wait for Vermont, and hope for the best.

“Okay, are you ready to go home now? You look tired.” I nodded and we both hopped off of the boulder we were sitting on.

We stood and looked around for a little while longer and admired everything we saw. “I think I am going to like it there, Mama, if it really is like this.”
She grinned, because she knew I would like Vermont.

We didn’t need to talk during the car ride home, but when we pulled into the driveway of our Illinois house, I hugged her, “Thank you for taking me there. I really liked the special place.” She hugged me back, and smiled, a very real one this time.