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Eyeball to Eyeball
An Excerpt from Ribbons of Highway: A Mother-Child Journey Across America
By Lori Hein
Hearing Dana's pronouncement, Adam turned to me, grinning. Hugely. Never mind the vintage wheels. He was taller than his mother. If Dana, chief competitor in almost everything in life had said it, then it must be true.
We stood eyeball to eyeball. I disregarded the fact that he wore mega-huge rubber-encased Nikes that must have weighed three pounds and lifted him two inches off the floor (the same shoes the Mississippi had wrapped her mud around). I'd be conceding height to him soon enough. Why not now, while we were on a journey that allowed him to be a boy most of the time, but called on him to be a man some of the time. I'd left Boston with a moody teenager. I was standing, 3,700 miles later, next to a beautiful young person I knew I could count on to take his headphones off when the situation asked for it, pitch in, keep cool and help us through whatever bump in the road we faced. He was the man of the house – or van, or tent or motel – for 12,000 miles.
"You are taller than me. When did that happen?" We all grinned. Dana lined up her sights again and snapped the photo.
For more information on this book or the author, visit www.LoriHein.com.