Happy 2022!
Driving in a blizzard is something you shouldn’t willingly do, but sometimes cannot avoid. Do you want to get home so much that you are willing to be stuck in an adrenaline surge for 12 straight hours?
We recently drove through a Colorado winter snowstorm in our family van (aka the family truckster).
Our kids are 21, 18 and 15 and I don’t know what to call them. Kids? Children? Young adults? Offspring? Nothing really fits. Sometimes I wish I could go back in time and spend a day with each of them. I want to pick the day. It wouldn’t be a road trip day.
We’ve taken a lot of road trips with our kids. It’s always a ton of work that we never take into consideration. I suppose we believe we will be fueled by the excitement of it all.
Family road trips are for the heartiest among us.
There are three phases: the preparation and getting there; the actual vacation; the packing up and getting home.
If you want a successful road trip, you have to take an aerial (should have taken an airplane) view and consider all three parts of the family road trip. My husband and I are slow on the uptake. We never give enough credit to parts 1 and 3.
What’s it worth to get home? We’ll get there eventually. Should we just wait out the rest of winter?
“Didn’t you check the weather conditions?”
“I always check the weather.”
“Exactly my point.”
“Why can’t you check the weather for once?”
“There’s no service. Oh wait, I have one bar.”
“Mom, you always blame Dad for the weather!”
“I’m feeling motion sick. I shouldn’t have ridden in the back in the mountains.”
“Here, take this Dramamine. Oh, I only have one left. I’ve had these for years.”
“Wait, is this expired? Is this old pill going to poison me?
Do you have water?
I need water.”
“Of course, we have water.
Oh wait, it’s frozen!”
The wind is blowing the snow in horizontal rivers perpendicular to our minivan.
“Why didn’t we get a SUV? This van is crap in the snow.”
“I’m hungry!
What do we have to eat?”
“Let’s turn around here.”
“No, let’s keep going through to Laramie.”
It’s only 42 more miles going 10mph, covered wagon speed, to get there. Seems reasonable. “Kids, we’ve got a math problem for ya!” Never pass up on a learning opportunity while on a family road trip!
“There are no cars coming from that direction. That’s a bad sign.”
“Why is Wyoming so bad with their roads?
Do we have enough gas?
We’ve run out before, remember?”
We let the white-out snowstorm make the decision for us. Turned around and drove back to Walden, Colorado, gas station to reassess.
“Everyone get out and go to the bathroom.”
“I don’t have to go.”
“GO TO THE BATHROOM!!!! THIS MAY BE YOUR LAST CHANCE!”
Headline for the Walden newspaper decorated with a gruesome picture of the remains: Wolves Attack Heifer Calf!
“Oh God, is this what’s going to happen to us? “
We may end up another small mountain town newspaper headline: Wolves Attack Stranded Family with Questionable IQ and Zero Problem-Solving Abilities!
Family, friends and neighbors back home only surprised it’s taken this long.
The cashier at the gas station I tried to make small talk with wasn’t having it. She looked like someone who is never interested in small talk and never sweats the small stuff. I got the sense that our family is definitely small stuff to her.
When I said, “We’re going to head through the Cameron Pass,” she responded, “It’s snowing there too.” Our safety was clearly not her concern. Seeking any sort of re-assurance we were making the right decision, I instantly regretted it and walked away in silence with my gas station coffee, bag of corn nuts and an impending sense of doom.
“I’ve got one bar of service!”
“Good, check the weather.”
“No way. I’m trying to get YouTube!
Can you turn on Skyfall when we’re driving through the canyon? That will be cool.”
“I think I’m gonna puke!”
Here’s to a 2022 full of family experiences, honing our planning skills and recognizing we don’t cause or control all the things!
If you’re a teen, 12 to 18 or parent of a teen, don’t forget to Join IME Community and co-create community with compassionate connection!
Self-love superpower,
Dr. Karla, ActivistMD
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