One of the by-products of living far away from family is that your kids grow up doing road trips. Since the time our boys were wee little things, we’ve been packing up the car and toodling down the road for days on end.
Back when they were little, we packed in a mountain of snacks and our own custom entertainment system. Long before mini dvd players were even in existence, we rigged up an electrical invertor, garage sale tv, and our home vcr player. The kids watched cartoons while we zipped away the hours down the road. {Please don’t judge our parenting based on the amount of tv they watched during road trips!….}
Now that they’re older, we pack in, well, a mountain of snacks and a custom entertainment system…
This time it included a Wii…
{Again… no judging!!}
***
Last Tuesday morning, we got up long before sunrise to catch the first ferry off our little island. We were heading to Calgary, Alberta for a very special occasion.
{The blue sky and sunshine on this trip was incredible. This is the one and only picture, however, that I took while travelling. It’s my husband (in the middle) and our 2 boys that are still living at home. We missed you, Brad!}
My in-laws celebrate their 50th anniversary this year. The actual anniversary date has yet to come, but they’ve already been doing a little celebrating. It started with a cruise with 2 of their kids…
And the other 2 “kids” (one of which is my husband) decided that they wanted to celebrate this milestone with them,too.
They discussed various celebratory options, but ended up choosing to do a special meal customized just for Mom and Dad.
The twist was that it was going to be a surprise.
For weeks previous, my husband and his siblings kept the phone lines hopping making plans.
Finally, it was time.
We had arrived and were sitting in my brother & sister-in-law’s living room. Mom and Dad arrived thinking they were being taken out for supper.
When they walked in the door…there we were.
SuuuPRISE!!
I do believe it was one of the only surprises I’ve been in on in my life…and it was sure fun! {My mother-in-law said she thought she was seeing a vision!}
Happy, Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!
***
After spending a delightful 3 days with our family, we drove home on Sunday (a 16 hour trip). A funny thing happened. My husband had just bought this book:
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.
In an effort to try to stay awake, I started reading it to him out loud. I noticed things got awfully quiet in the back seat. The tv was off. Lo and behold, the kids were listening…
and loving it.
We enjoyed a wonderful time going through more than half of the book together.
This engaging book offers insights into hockey players, computer geniuses, lawyers, pilots, and Jewish garment makers.
It also prompted discussions such as, “How do you define achievement?” and “What parenting approach do you follow?” {Oh my!}
The reading session concluded when it became nighttime…
Nevertheless, it remains a cherished memory from our road trip.
What entertainment items do you bring for family journeys?
And rest assured, I won't criticize if your choices include a tv and wii!
