Last night, we returned from a trip that was packed with a 6 hour car ride to Mitchell, SD an overnight stay at a hotel, a morning swim, a funeral and reception, a trip to "the farm", a lot of visiting with family, and a return car ride lasting another 6 hours. All of that in a span of a little more than 24 hours. It was a full day for the adults, let alone for our two kids.
For the most part, Cara and Connor did really well in the car. On the way home, they played very well together until it got a bit dark outside and Cara fell into an awesome, mouth-open sleep. The kind of sleep that every parent on a road trip dreams of. And, being the donkey that he is, Connor would have no part of it.
So, the boy turns his attention to the folks in the front. Crap. Don't you have a DS to play or something?
He rambles on (as he is prone to do when he is tired) about anything and everything that pops into his head and I do the active listening fake-out thing where I say "Really?" and "Right!" in appropriate increments even though I am in a highway-induced trance since I'm the one driving. After a bit, I declare my office closed and state that Craig is now the manager on duty.
Now that Craig is supposed to be listening and responding, I honestly should zone out and focus on the road and getting us home but I can't help but listen to the verbal barrage that Craig is fielding. After realizing that he was losing the debate he was having with his dad, Connor randomly stated, "Skunks say they're sorry."
Normally, I would chalk this up as a "Random Backseat Rambling" similar to ones that I post on Facebook. But this time, I got to be a spectator as opposed to a participant in this show. Let me just say, that when you don't have to ready your brain with a response to this boy's nonsense and can just sit back and watch the show, it's much harder to stifle the laughter. And anyone that was with me in confirmation class or church choir knows just how much I suck at NOT laughing at inappropriate times.
So, I'm in the driver's seat, bouncing with silent laughter and trying not to focus on picturing a skunk, standing on his hind legs, saying "My bad." Craig continues his role as The Adult in the Household and asks Connor more questions about skunks. Connor goes on to talk about how they do handstands when they spray and that the babies spray each other for practice. He said, "If a skunk comes near you and you walk away fastly, they will chase you. But if you walk away slowly, they won't." (Silent giggle about the word "fastly".) He also added how, if you get sprayed by a skunk, you have to take a bath "with tomato juice and water". He then mentions that he's heard a lot of this information from an episode of Curious George.
At this point, I have replaced my suppressed snickers with awe at the amount of information that he's retained about these striped creatures when he adds, "They're not turtles. That means they only come out at night."
I totally deserve a medal for not crashing the car.
For the most part, Cara and Connor did really well in the car. On the way home, they played very well together until it got a bit dark outside and Cara fell into an awesome, mouth-open sleep. The kind of sleep that every parent on a road trip dreams of. And, being the donkey that he is, Connor would have no part of it.
So, the boy turns his attention to the folks in the front. Crap. Don't you have a DS to play or something?
He rambles on (as he is prone to do when he is tired) about anything and everything that pops into his head and I do the active listening fake-out thing where I say "Really?" and "Right!" in appropriate increments even though I am in a highway-induced trance since I'm the one driving. After a bit, I declare my office closed and state that Craig is now the manager on duty.
Now that Craig is supposed to be listening and responding, I honestly should zone out and focus on the road and getting us home but I can't help but listen to the verbal barrage that Craig is fielding. After realizing that he was losing the debate he was having with his dad, Connor randomly stated, "Skunks say they're sorry."
Normally, I would chalk this up as a "Random Backseat Rambling" similar to ones that I post on Facebook. But this time, I got to be a spectator as opposed to a participant in this show. Let me just say, that when you don't have to ready your brain with a response to this boy's nonsense and can just sit back and watch the show, it's much harder to stifle the laughter. And anyone that was with me in confirmation class or church choir knows just how much I suck at NOT laughing at inappropriate times.
So, I'm in the driver's seat, bouncing with silent laughter and trying not to focus on picturing a skunk, standing on his hind legs, saying "My bad." Craig continues his role as The Adult in the Household and asks Connor more questions about skunks. Connor goes on to talk about how they do handstands when they spray and that the babies spray each other for practice. He said, "If a skunk comes near you and you walk away fastly, they will chase you. But if you walk away slowly, they won't." (Silent giggle about the word "fastly".) He also added how, if you get sprayed by a skunk, you have to take a bath "with tomato juice and water". He then mentions that he's heard a lot of this information from an episode of Curious George.
At this point, I have replaced my suppressed snickers with awe at the amount of information that he's retained about these striped creatures when he adds, "They're not turtles. That means they only come out at night."
I totally deserve a medal for not crashing the car.
No comments:
Post a Comment