On The Road Again

GREETINGS, FROM MY VAN………..

Well six weeks into the school year, and in the words of Willie Nelson, I am

“On the Road Again.”  I didn’t always drive a van.  I am really a sports car

kinda chick, you know…born to be wild and all that.  During my last pregnancy,

it was also time to buy a new car.  Counting up our current household population,

and knowing that twins were on the way, there were some hard decisions to be made.

Unless one of our tribe was willing to be strapped on the top of the car like a deer, a

van was our only option.  I will have to admit, that driving a sporty car during

the last trimester of a twin pregnancy was not the easiest way to travel.  Heaving myself

in and out was a half hour ordeal, and that was with the help of a crane! The van arrived when I was in the Hospital giving birth.  As much as I hated to admit it, stepping up into a vehicle beat crawling on hands and knees out of my Sporty image auto.  But I digress….

Little did I know that the days of living in my house were coming to a close.  I was

about to go van mobile.  Three boys, equal 3 swim team practices, countless swim meets, three soccer practices, soccer games, CCD times three, Chess club on Tuesdays,

play dates, birthday parties, Doctors appointments, Dentists appointments, Orthodontists

appointments, flag football, School newspaper meetings, Cub scouts, trips to the emergency room, (I have active boys) subsequent trips to orthopedist, an occasional

stitch removal jaunt, Church, library, school when the bus is missed, etc…….

Well Marion, you may say, you must get to leave your van when the youngsters

are in school! You would think.  Alas it is not so.  My “free” time is spent purchasing

gifts for aforementioned parties, as well as athletic equipment for previously mentioned

sports.  Another great road trip is the craft store to pick up supplies for ANOTHER

project.  This usually entails the procuring of popsicle sticks, poster board, pipe cleaners,

felt, and double sided tape. Then there is the trip to fulfill the “Can you please send in

to school 24 green grapes (must be green, purple will not work!) for our Hooray It’s

Green Day Celebration!” request. Well you get the picture!

It should come as no surprise that “home Cooking” is just a memory of days

gone by.  We usually dine with our good friends, Ronald, Wendy, The Colonel,

and of course the King.  These understanding friends realize that we are van dwellers,

We can only consume that which can be eaten without utensils, and drunk through straws. This leads to what my Husband affectionately calls my van….the garbage barge on wheels. Ok so there are a few petrified French fries, an old moldy pancake, and an occasional chicken bone to be found among the scattered game boy cartridges.

Thank God for those little scented tree fresheners.

All this time on the road allows for some real quality conversations with my offspring.

Like “he’s touching me”, “he’s sitting in my seat, and you said I could sit there, next time!”, or the dreaded “uh-oh….” This signals the entertainment portion of our journey. It used to be a turning up the volume of my 80’s oldies CD.  That gave way to Disney’s greatest hits, and that Holiday Classic “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.” Now

that my eldest has past the age and weight requirements necessary for riding shot gun, I have a co-pilot /DJ.  He has taken over the music choices, and is schooling me on the intricate nuances of hip hop, and alternative music genre. For those of you not in the know, this music must be played at earsplitting volumes, accompanied by head bops

and air guitar.

On one of my brief layovers at our house, my husband and I were musing over possible

Retirement options.  “You know what I think would be really cool?” he stated, “purchasing an RV and touring the country for a year.”  “NOT”, I replied.