It takes 2 hours and 29 minutes to make it from our garage to my in-laws driveway.
A thick border of greenery lines the rolling fields that hug the freeway connecting Austin to the Houston suburbs. Grazing livestock dot the landscape. The bison are my favorite but the kids delight in spotting an occasional zebra as we pass the FreBo Ranch. It’s a straight shot along wide open lanes.
All of it, about as pleasant as highway driving gets.
Still, I find myself counting down the minutes.
Ninety miles in, when we pass through Columbus, Texas, I ask Spotify to play Bon Jovi. The chorus of Livin’ On A Prayer, has become my benediction to the halfway point.
Woah. We’re halfway there.
We are officially at the halfway point of 2026. Which is what made me think about Bon Jovi in the first place this week.
The halfway mark for the calendar year is not something I normally track. But it seems to be a popular theme on Substack with writers checking in on word counts and such. Immediately I thought about my New Years resolution post, and kicked myself a little.
From my memory of what I had written, I was failing to keep pace with my goals—coffee, a book deal, and a cat.
Thanks to my new espresso machine, I’m one for three, but it seems I need to get my eyes back on the road if I am going to reach my desired destination.
Then, I looked up the lyrics to Livin’ On A Prayer. I was hoping to find some meaningful insight that would help me push closer to my goals. Or at least give me something to write about this week.
But turns out I had never really listened to the words.
Tommy and Gina aren’t literally halfway to anything. From the outside, they are still kind of a disaster. Tommy is hocking his guitar and Gina is crying into the night.
livin’ on a prayer.
Not really the vibe I was going for—on the surface.
Then I went back and read what I actually wrote in January. It was explicitly not a New Years Resolution post.
Instead it was about slowing down. Intentionally cultivating the life and the world that I want. Allowing for possibility rather than checking boxes.
The song is about Tommy and Gina choosing to believe the distance they’ve already traveled matters. They are closer to the real destination than it seems.
Sometimes we drive to Houston and back on the same day.
On those days we chase the Texas sun each way. In the morning we head East toward the streaks of orange and pink breaking over the horizon. In the evening, facing West, the slow purple and red hues gently guide us back home.
Five hours under the expanse of the Texas sky.
We pass through Columbus twice, with Bon Jovi floating through the air.
Take my hand and we’ll make it, I swear
In the spirit of a slower summer, I’m keeping my writing here a little shorter during June and July. It’s a great time to catch up on posts that you might of missed.
Here are my most read posts (so far) for 2026
New here? Start Here. It’s the best place to understand what this is and why it matters.
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.