Between the hot Miami sun, the endless hours of traffic among those unpredictable, irrational animals we call "Florida drivers," and the tremendous amount of time, energy, and effort everyone put into every task over the course of our time in Miami, it was a pretty long week -- and we all felt the strain.
How could I tell? Well, just about every time we sat in the car for longer than 20 minutes (so every time we sat in the car), just about everyone would start to drift off to sleep immediately. People's bodies would notice the lapse in activity and immediately demand a few minutes of deep hibernation, and one way or another they'd be sufficiently recharged to go bounding enthusiastically into the next activity. (Some people's bodies were more susceptible than others to the whole "crash headlong into an impenetrable nap without a moment's notice" thing. (i.e., Kathleen. I'm talking about Kathleen.))
But of course, I happened to be one of the four drivers for this spring break, so I got to be the one jamming to tunez in the front and making fun of the sleepers in the back whenever I needed to bury my envy and exhaustion in a corny joke or two.
As the driver, however, I had a lot of extra time for quiet reflection. When I wasn't brooding about my navigator's song selections or idly wondering how long I could go without another coffee, I thought about the people dozing behind me. In spite of all the tiring work, all the hiccups, setbacks, and confusions, and the sleep schedule that got gradually more irresponsible as the week went on, the positivity never ceased to be astounding. They drifted off to sleep every chance they got, then bounced back into action, smiling and ready to do whatever was required, whether that was manual labor, sharing, or simply just listening.
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