3,315 Reasons to Be Thankful

To kick off summer, my wife Meaghan and I decided to take a road trip to visit family in New England. We took along our three kids, Jude (5), Luna (3), and Jonah (7 months). It was a circus, but the right kind of circus. One that we’ll remember for the rest of our lives. Having survived the 3,315 mile drive from our home in Lawrence, Kansas, to New England and back (for perspective, that’s the same distance that separates the U.S. and Africa), I’d like to offer you the official Survival Kit For Your Next Family Road Trip With Little Kids.

NECK BRACE

Your children’s moods will change so fast, you’ll get whiplash. It’s like watching ten different people crammed inside one tiny body. Thrilled about a snack! Devastated because it’s not the right snack! Outraged because some other stuff you don’t even know about and can’t control!

SNAIL FOOD

This is what Luna called gummy worms on our trip. We have no idea why. But our family will be adopting this term for the foreseeable future because, well, it’s adorable. You may not want to bring candy on your road trip, but you must bring snacks. Lots of them.

BAND-AIDS

Every scuff, paper cut, hangnail, or dirt-smudge is an apocalypse that requires a Band-Aid. Your children will also demand the impossible, like when Jude ordered me to “move” his scrape from his right arm to his left so that he could be more comfortable in his sleeping bag. 

TIME MACHINE

Take three wrong turns and make your wife carsick? Time machine. Pass a bathroom on the highway after your three-year-old says she has to pee only to have her pee all over herself and her car seat two minutes later? Boom, time machine. Accidentally book an Airbnb that reeks so strongly of marijuana that you thought you walked backstage at a Bob Marley concert and are forced to find a hotel at the very last minute? Kapow, time machine. 

LUGGAGE WITH POKED HOLES

This is just in case you want to put your child, who hasn’t stopped screaming for 20 minutes, in a suitcase in the trunk.

SCHEDULED OUTSIDE TIME

There’s beauty in escaping the confines of routine, but it can be pure madness with little kids. Ours have always been drawn to nature so we were purposeful in carving out time to play outside. We explored the Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (Meaghan went there for camp as a kid) and Houlden Farm, a fruit and vegetable farm that also had tires, a wooden seesaw, and a cool old tractor to play on.

UMBRELLA

Maybe more than one. You never know when your day will be punctuated with a downpour, as ours was when we traveled into Boston. The rain didn’t dampen our fun though—we got to explore the Boston Children’s Museum and eat food at one of Boston’s best diners. Jude was mesmerized by our ride on the commuter rail. It was his first experience riding a train. His face was glued to the window as he looked out at the world passing by. I shared his wonder, but my attention was inside the train. I watched as people got on and off, heading to work or class or to visit someone. An elderly man clutching a leather-bound book. A businessman typing furiously on his laptop. A young couple exchanging quiet smiles and hushed words. Each passenger was a world unto themselves, filled with memories, aspirations, and personal histories. And I couldn’t help but think that if we traced our lives back far enough, we’d all be bound by the same braided cord of life. 

So, the million dollar question: Will we do the road trip again? Here’s where I stand: Someday I may forget that we threatened to FedEx one of our kids home in a box if they didn’t start making “green-light choices” or that I considered hiring a priest to perform proper exorcism rites on one of our kids who wouldn’t stop screaming in the car. But I won’t forget Jonah giving Meaghan the biggest smiles in the backseat of our van. Or Jude’s first train ride. Or the kids meeting their cousins for the first time. Or visiting our country’s first public library. Or Luna holding Mark’s hand as he walked her down the street in downtown Boston. 

So, yes, we’re excited to do it all over again sometime! 

(But next time I will bring a neck brace.)

~

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