Tuesday was a 660 mile day. With the Queen. And the kids. And the dog. (I'm glad we found a hotel for the bird!) Twelve hours, five sore butts, four stops, two meals and one day gone. Here is the family secret to happy traveling: Go to your local library and check out an audio book or two. We listened to the first half of Martin the Warrior, which means we still have plenty of book left for Saturday's return trip.

For younger kids, I would recommend Jim Gill. (Listen to the Washing Machine Song...the drums sound so much like an unbalanced washer during the spin cycle.) We rounded out our audio entertainment with the surfer/grunge sound of Cadet. The song Beyond brought tears of grief and of joy when framed against our recent loss.

At 9:00pm, 645 miles were behind us. With a mere 15 miles to go, I slowed to the appropriate speed as we rolled through a familiar small town speed trap. I knew there were no cars behind me, but suddenly a flashing light caught my eye. I checked the rear-view mirror and my stomach sank into my shoes as I saw the flashing red, blue and amber lights. I put on my blinker and started to decelerate.

I glanced at the mirror again and a strange shadow caught my eye. It almost seemed that the police cruiser was being held in the air by a shadowy arm and held in the grasp of a dark hand. A third look added the final level of perspective required to understand exactly what I was seeing.

It seems my oldest son was playing with a Flashing Spike Necklace, holding it up between him and his brother. He endured a verbal dressing down as my fear turned to anger, and then we all laughed as it gave way to relief.

Dealing with death is a difficult thing for all of us, but it has fallen most heavily on the Queen's grandfather. For the past several years, he has served as caretaker for his wife without complaint. The last five weeks of her life was spent in the hospital, following a major stroke. He spent each of those days and nights by her side, speaking, praying, reading and singing to her.

My brother-in-law directed me to this February interview with his Grandma and Grandpa. If you choose to read it, be sure to have some kleenex handy. A few days prior to her death, he told his oldest son, "Sixty-one years with her was not enough."

These days they don't make many marriages like this one...but they should.