I don't know about car trips with your children, but mine can get rather harried at times. Bickering can run rampant between S and J - especially when they can't agree on the DVD to watch. A three and a half hour trip between our town and Pawleys Island can seem endless.
But this trip home was different. This photo I found online was titled "A Peaceful Road".
I had met "Fun Dad" (aka biological father) on Friday to take the boys and myself for a weekend with my parents, sister, and her girls at the beach.
(S and J spent Thanksgiving with his family.) The weekend was too short as I packed up the boys and myself for the trip back to reality. Of course none of the headphones worked for the DVD, but instead of whining, my boys found other things to do. S was engrossed in
The Horse and It's Boy, and J played multiplication and spelling games on my Droid.
Reading? Math? Spelling? Yes, and they were content as could be for a good hour or so. I loved peaking in the rear view mirror at the two of them. You could just see their minds working. They were oblivious to the world around them...
Now I know that a good DVD can do the same thing. Believe me, we have between five and ten of them at any given time in the Odyssey. But it was the fact that this time, they were not just
"plugged up". They were
"plugged in". And plugged into something that made them better. I know that sounds ridiculous, but it made me happy. I can remember reading and working out brainteasers (until I got slightly carsick) on car trips as a child. It just brought back memories of my childhood.
I was also able to really look outside the window and marvel at the beauty of the trees with their beautiful leaves outside. I was able to think about the fun the boys had with their cousins, creating their very own USC/Clemson tickets for the Pawleys Island "satellite stadium" before the big game Saturday evening. I was able to smile as I thought of my short visit with my sweet friend, Laura, at church that morning. I played car games with S and J, quizzing them on South Carolina and United States history. I planned with them how we were going to decorate the tree and house over the next few days. I got excited with them as we talked about their upcoming hunting trips with their grandfather at our cousin's plantation. We laughed and talked and planned the whole rest of the ride.
And finally, I was able to to see that sometimes the best part of a trip can be the trip home...
