Monster Cookies

Road Trip

Monday, July 5th, 2010

This post was typed on June 29, 2010.

What does a road trip look like for your family?

If you looked into our van, right now, as we drive across the Canadian prairies, this is what you would see:

I’m sitting in the passenger seat, handing out drinks, crayons, snacks and books. I have my visor down even though the sun is behind us, because that way I can see all the kids in the mirror on the back without having to twist and turn around to check on them every five minutes (or less). I’m pretty sure that the wrinkles in my forehead that drive me so crazy are from checking on the kids in my visor mirror.

The kids are entertaining themselves – Daniel and Josh drawing in the back row with pens and paper, discussing Indiana Jones. Claire has her Dora colouring book open on her lap and holds her purple crayon, the only one that she wants, in her right hand. She turns pages with her left hand and marks the pages as the mood strikes her. Andrew, my little blondie who will not utter one single peep when anyone outside of our immediate family is present is exploding with sound – screeches and bings and lalalas and woos and song. He is drawing a map on his MagnaDoodle and wants me to know what every line leads to…our house; Subway (where we picked up lunch); McDonalds in Swift Current where we had dinner; the hotel in Regina that we will be at soon; and finally, Winnipeg.

Jon is our driver – he will drive for 12 hours straight if he has to; he’d rather be in that seat than the one that I’m in. He insists that even though he says he’d be too stressed in the passenger seat, he knows I’m a good driver. I believe him. I know the real reason that he doesn’t want to sit here is that then he’d have to deal with the kids constant chatter, impatience, requests, kicking of seats and occasionally fighting and yelling. In the driver’s seat, it’s just him, his podcasts and the road, and I’m okay with that!

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