Sunday Drive

Sunday Drive

Before we go, one of us finds some new obscure music on the internet and makes a CD and we go, sometimes I bring the crossword from the news paper, Dan and Ella always bring books. These are some of my most favorite times. There have been pumpkin patches, Easter egg hunts, vacations, long weekends, city trips, country trips, direct routes and scenic routes and the ‘I’m not telling you I’m lost’ routes, blizzards, rain storms, compact cars, trucks and minivans. Time seems to be put on hold when we’re in the car together.

Our best moments are in the car:

• “Do you want to drive?” “No, I just want to bitch about how you drive”.
• Dan’s crooning “I’ll stop the world and melt with you!” and Ella trailing along with a high pitched “Yoooooouuuuuuuuuuuuu!” and me giggling.
• I am listening to NPR and Dan and Ella snoozing away inches from me.
• String cheese and candy bars and watching for the next rest stop.
• A reflective moment at the end of a night out, before we walk in to pick Ella up and bundle her sleeping into her car-seat, I say "Wanna make out or somethin'?" we both crack up.
• I’m waking up and looking for my shoes amid the CDs, books, toys, empty juice boxes and potato chip bags all over the floor.
• We are all singing “My mom has a lion on her head – ROOOOAAAARRR!” complete with the hand scratching the air motion.
• We are munching hash browns with really bad coffee and thinking up toddler-friendly cuss words for the driver in front of us.

It is total contentment, the pressure is off, we are on our way and going just as fast as we are going. Nothing further can be done about; what time we are getting there, what we are wearing, what we forgot, who we brought, or for that matter world peace, unemployment and starving babies – there’s nothing you can do about it in the car so there’s no use even worrying.