Tuesday, July 8, 2008

WHY WE DON'T GO ANYWHERE FOR VACATION

The cherubs and I were busy running Aunt Tracy all over creation, trying to get her settled into her new house. That meant five hours in the car (interrupted by stops at a pizza place, Aunt Tracy's electric, water, and gas-free house, and several utilities offices to get the aforementioned electric, water, and gas turned on). Have I mentioned that my kids have a 20-minute car-ride tolerance? I have? Well, that hasn't changed.

I would say that, of the five hours we spent in the car today, four of them were spent with one or both of them screaming. We had about 30 minutes of calm in the beginning and 30 minutes of calm at the end, but chaos reigned supreme throughout the central part of our journey. How do you console two toddlers who are hysterically trying to free themselves from the confines of their carseats?

There are people in my life (friends, relatives) who haven't seen me since Bean was 4 months old. Big Daddy has never been to Disney World. I would love to go back to Chicago. All of this will have to wait until my youngest is in her teens. I can't remember a more misery-packed four hours since I was a child, screaming hysterically in the car as we drove to any destination further than 20 minutes away. Wait ... why does that sound familiar?

5 comments:

Mandy said...

Oh girl! I can so feel your pain about long car trips with toddlers. My son is NOT a good traveler at all and I've threatened to stop going anywhere until he is 36.

No advice...just "I've been there".

Anonymous said...

What an AWFUL day! I just suffered a car trip with my two little screamers, and it was murder! Maybe Aunt Tracey can run her own errands next time!

Tanya said...

You need a DVD player. My kids are really good travelers, but there are days when they're more like you describe here. And even on the good days, anything more than an hour or so requires a DVD player (or a nap, which I know you're kids don't do) for us to arrive happy.

Oceanchild said...

OH I hate long car trips, but I think I am more cranky than the kids. The DVD player has saved me from their cries, but also annoys the hell out of me most of them time. Still it is WAY better than the whining.

Holly said...

I guess I should consider myself lucky...my little one doesn't protest the carseat too much, although it's becoming more frequent. A favorite toy or snack usually buys me all the time I need. I don't know how you do it!