Tales from the Car
Since we’ve been on summer vacation, there haven’t been a lot of trips in the car with all of us. I’ve tried to time errands to where I only have to take one trip out a week with the boys. Not because I don’t enjoy it, but well, loud little boys in a car are even louder than usual.
In gearing up for the Oldest Kidlet to start Kindergarten (his school is trying out a “test week” to get the kids acclimated to the school), I had to finish up doctor visits so that his paperwork would be complete. And thought I’d get Little Kidlet’s paperwork and TB test done as well since he’s starting preschool.
On our way down to the pediatrician, I was in the fast lane. In the slow lane, I saw a Land Rover with two surfboards strapped to the top come into view. I thought, “I really hope those are tied down well, they don’t look-” and suddenly, the surfboards came loose. One flipped through the air, zipping across three lanes of traffic in front of my car and landed between the fast lane and the carpool lane. The other slid off the back of the Range Rover and was immediately run over by a semi. Thankfully nobody was hurt, but that was a scary moment, watching that surfboard fly through the air.
As I tried to collect myself (my heart was practically beating out of my chest), I heard this from the back seat. “Why don’t people tie stuff better to their cars? Did the surfboards break?” I said that they did. “Do they cost a lot?” (The Oldest Kidlet is just starting to learn about money and value) I said that they do. “Then why wouldn’t they make sure they were tied down really good? That’s stupid.”
On the way back, I watched as two people were racing each other through traffic. And I thought they were stupid, too.
The next day, I had a headache and needed caffeine. (I’ve had a headache this whole week, actually) How bad was this headache? My pain reliever alone wasn’t getting the job done, so I put the kids in the van and left. We were all in pajamas and sneakers- hey, we were just going through the drivethru at the coffee place. On the way home, we were stuck in traffic and I was busy rocking out to “Beat It” as I often do.
The Oldest Kidlet said, “Like from Back to the Future.” Since we were in an area where it wasn’t uncommon to see vintage cars, I thought he’d seen a neat car. “No, Mommy, the song. That’s playing when Marty goes into the Future.” That’s right, he remembered that “Beat It” was playing in the background of Cafe 80s. (He’s definitely my kid)
The next day as we were driving back down to the doctor (almost an hour drive in the car, just so the assistant could look at the Little Kidlet’s arm and confirm he didn’t have TB), the Oldest Kidlet asked if we’d get to see more surfboards on the road. I laughed, and quickly said no. “At least we’ll get to see Mr. Potatohead.” (He’s currently on the top of the Discovery Science Center) I turned my attention back to the road.