Family Road Trip with Kids and Dog

Truth bomb: I’m a car school rebel. When we go on long car rides cross country (or really more than a couple of hours), this Mom... just... can’t. Don’t let me go downtown to the zoo and forget my headphones because when Mom drives home after so much togetherness, she needs headspace. And they get a CD. And sometimes a McDonals’s ice cream ;) . . Long trips? I need them to be quiet. They watch a movie with headphones. And when I feel like a Mom-slacker I channel my inner Julie Bogart and remind myself that I’m building a family culture of movies. They talk about them, prioritize favorites, rewatch, and problem solve. Some days lots of problem solving. Loudly. . . Other trips in the car don’t involve TV. These days it’s all audiobooks. During the school year, it’s lots of Classical Conversations memory work songs. Sometimes it’s kid podcasts, worship music, musicals, Queen ;) ... And conversation. . . Here’s to the messy mom car. The built in picnic hauling, food snacking, extra-clothes carrying, book reading, nature dirt-packed travel necessity. There will be years for a clean car. Now it’s our second home.