Monday Memories....Backseat driver!

When our children were small, we would sometimes pile in the car for a long trip after Mr. Wonderful got off work at 5 p.m. He would drive till about 10 p.m. and then I would drive all night.

Since I worked the night shift, I was used to being up all night. Give me some tunes on the radio, a clear night and this girl will chalk up the miles. The following morning Mr. Wonderful would take over while I took cat naps and entertained the children.

Traveling with small children is always a challenge. We would give them a toy or sticker book to entertain them and would plan on stopping every two hours to let them get out of the car and run around. We would run them till they were more than willing to sit in the car for a while longer just to rest up.

One night everyone was asleep in the car, except Mr. Wonderful and me. Up pops a bright-eyed 4-year-old Suzy, who is full of excitement and lots of questions. "Where are we?" she asks as if she is the family navigator and must check the map for our coordinates.

"Ohio" answers a grumpy dad who has been driving way too long and is tired and crossed.

"Oh," she says, "Is that near grandma's house?".

"NO", answers grumpy Dad...." we still have a long way to go and I'm tired."

"Well, I'm not, " answers Suzy who had been sleeping for the last two hours.

"Do you want to drive then?" asks grumpy Dad sarcastically. (Sarcasm is so lost on children!)

Suzy gets very small and quiet.... she is obviously seriously thinking about this request from her beloved father. Finally, she answers....""No " she said, "I might bump somebody."

Needless to say, we both got a good laugh from her thoughtfulness and decided to stop for the night since we were both exhausted.