As Rachel, the dogs and I chased Sean and Tyler through the mountains heading toward my parents home to drop off a car before continuing on to Jacob's graduation from boot camp, I wondered how many miles I have traveled in the past twenty-six years crisscrossing our great nation with kids and critters in tow.
The odometer in our 2005 minivan is nearing 130,000 miles. The majority of those being highway miles. The kids complain that the old girl smells like travel. You know, unwashed bodies, sweaty animals, and rotting food. The old gal grumbles loudly when the key is turned in her ignition. Some parts no longer work, others have fallen off, but she still takes the mountain passes in stride.
Keeping sight of the guys ahead of us, images of past trips slowly floated through my mind. Nick and I driving up the east coast with me reciting Dr. Seuss books while Nick flipped the appropriate pages, a bin overflowing with toys and coloring books beside him in the back seat. I wonder how many bins we have filled with toys and books over the years to keep children entertained, and how many Nick will fill now that he is making memories with his son sitting in the backseat.
As we sped along, ringing in the air I could clearly hear Old Man Pine Cone, a song Jacob made up as we drove home from Sean's graduation from boot camp. Chuckling, I wondered how many highways Jacob has christened. When he let us know he needed to make a pit stop that meant it was urgent twenty miles ago, stop NOW! Brakes would slam. Doors would fly open. Today he has logged thousands of miles driving our nation's highways and byways. The days of christening roadways behind him. Hmm ... I wonder.
Scanning for a new radio station, I had a flashback of Rachel screaming through three states, "Get me out of this chair!" Even the radio cranked all the way up couldn't drown out her enraged shrieks. The vibrant colors of a beautiful mural she drew on the car door with markers from her toy bin then flooded my vision. Thankfully they were washable! Now that she's the oldest child living at home, Rachel's my co-pilot. Soon she will have a driver's license. I wonder how many miles she will travel when she's a mom.
Reaching for my bottle of water, I wondered if Tyler will ever travel for days with his child's fish secured in a container in his cup holder like I did as we drove through the southwest to visit Sean at grad school. Tyler's first long road trip at age two months was traveling through seven states to attend Sean's graduation from Officer's Candidate School. Big brother Nick perched beside him ready to stick a bottle in his mouth whenever he demanded. By age five Tyler had been to thirty-two states. Dare I mention Tyler's a puker. Bonus travel aroma.
I found it funny when seated at the breakfast table the day after graduation Jacob commented something to the effect that he couldn't understand flying from place to place because you would miss out on the wonder of our great nation. We are so blessed to live in such a rich multicultural country with breathtaking diverse terrain, and a wealth of history. If you don't believe me, close your eyes, randomly pick a spot on a map of the United States, open your eyes, and DRIVE!
The odometer in our 2005 minivan is nearing 130,000 miles. The majority of those being highway miles. The kids complain that the old girl smells like travel. You know, unwashed bodies, sweaty animals, and rotting food. The old gal grumbles loudly when the key is turned in her ignition. Some parts no longer work, others have fallen off, but she still takes the mountain passes in stride.
Keeping sight of the guys ahead of us, images of past trips slowly floated through my mind. Nick and I driving up the east coast with me reciting Dr. Seuss books while Nick flipped the appropriate pages, a bin overflowing with toys and coloring books beside him in the back seat. I wonder how many bins we have filled with toys and books over the years to keep children entertained, and how many Nick will fill now that he is making memories with his son sitting in the backseat.
As we sped along, ringing in the air I could clearly hear Old Man Pine Cone, a song Jacob made up as we drove home from Sean's graduation from boot camp. Chuckling, I wondered how many highways Jacob has christened. When he let us know he needed to make a pit stop that meant it was urgent twenty miles ago, stop NOW! Brakes would slam. Doors would fly open. Today he has logged thousands of miles driving our nation's highways and byways. The days of christening roadways behind him. Hmm ... I wonder.
Scanning for a new radio station, I had a flashback of Rachel screaming through three states, "Get me out of this chair!" Even the radio cranked all the way up couldn't drown out her enraged shrieks. The vibrant colors of a beautiful mural she drew on the car door with markers from her toy bin then flooded my vision. Thankfully they were washable! Now that she's the oldest child living at home, Rachel's my co-pilot. Soon she will have a driver's license. I wonder how many miles she will travel when she's a mom.
Reaching for my bottle of water, I wondered if Tyler will ever travel for days with his child's fish secured in a container in his cup holder like I did as we drove through the southwest to visit Sean at grad school. Tyler's first long road trip at age two months was traveling through seven states to attend Sean's graduation from Officer's Candidate School. Big brother Nick perched beside him ready to stick a bottle in his mouth whenever he demanded. By age five Tyler had been to thirty-two states. Dare I mention Tyler's a puker. Bonus travel aroma.
I found it funny when seated at the breakfast table the day after graduation Jacob commented something to the effect that he couldn't understand flying from place to place because you would miss out on the wonder of our great nation. We are so blessed to live in such a rich multicultural country with breathtaking diverse terrain, and a wealth of history. If you don't believe me, close your eyes, randomly pick a spot on a map of the United States, open your eyes, and DRIVE!
