Long road trips are good for my soul for reasons I don't fully understand.

Last week, my husband and I left Louisiana to head to El Paso, on the far western edge of Texas. With all the hubbub of flying, airports and missed connections, we decided to drive.

Driving all the way across Texas takes time. Watching the sometimes gradual and sometimes sudden changes of landscape helps me connect the dots between more than places on a map.

We've made the long drive from Louisiana to El Paso several times. When we're heading west, I appreciate the way the skies get bigger and the horizon broadens. Expansive horizons make me calmer — like the world isn't quite as hectic as it was when everything was crowding in.

On this particular road trip, my husband and I were driving toward a funeral for our

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