Road Tripping

It's August, and my family is cramming one last road trip into our summer before school starts.  We usually visit my family in western Pennsylvania each summer, drive the 10 hours from Cape Cod in our trusty mini-van and stay for a week before retracing our route home.  It's a total drag, but as the children have grown, the trip has become slightly more bearable.  Not enjoyable, mind you - sitting in a car for that long is never enjoyable - but at least  there are fewer meltdowns and arguments. 

It used to be that a Road Trip would involve a lot of "He Said, She Said" sniping and angry outbursts, but it's definitely been less stressful this time around.  There has been far less crying than usual, and not a single emotional ultimatum, and everyone has just been calmer in general.  It's been almost peaceful... and the kids have been terrific, as well. 

Oh, did you think I was talking about the kids and their travel tantrums?  Oh, please.  Everyone knows to expect crying and whining from weary children, but what usually makes the road trip experience suck for me is when my husband and I aren't communicating well.  Different driving styles, different attitudes towards speeding, the number of car lengths one should follow behind other vehicles - all of these can be a source of conflict. 

The frequency one should stop for a break, the proper way to pick a toll lane, the amount of gas one should leave in the tank before one should start looking for a service station - these are all subjective issues, right?  A rational person should remember that in the grand scheme of things, none of these are life-threatening choices.  The problem with spending that much time on the road, however, is that the cranky sets in.  Parents get tired, kids get whiny, and that's when it can get ugly. 

With the kids being a little older this time, everybody held onto their good behavior much longer than in the past.  Still, it's a long drive.  It is probably inevitable that at some point, the arguments morph from how soon to take a bathroom break to the claim that one driver has quicker reflexes than the other and thus cannot help the imaginary braking she does whilst in the passenger seat.  And why does the other driver even care, since he is so wrapped up listening to his sports talk radio podcasts that he doesn't even realize he speeds up while shaking with laughing... well, you get the picture.

But we made it, despite the minor sniping and a terrible thunderstorm we could barely see to drive through.  My husband couldn't take the whole week off from work and is flying home on Wednesday, and I've been fielding comments about how hard it will be to drive home alone with the kids.  Honestly, though?   I'm kind of glad I'm making it alone, now that I have once again been reminded where the phrase "driving me crazy" comes from.

Comments

[Maddy]

Sounds just like us! Very familiar territory, an area it's not care to repeat any time soon.
Cheers

[Claire]

God bless you. Glad it's not us. Not this year.

[Christine]

As a control freak, I'm usually behind the wheel on our long trips, and hubby sleeps most of the time while I drive. Keeps things verrrryyyy quiet on our road trip (at least between the adults!)