Wacky Wednesday – Saving Energy in Cars

Breast Cancer isn’t really very funny. Parenthood, however, I will admit can be really really funny. And I do try to laugh at myself as often as possible. When you combine That Girl, That Guy, and My Girls, you get a pretty Wacky life. When I was a child, probably when I was learning to read, one of my favorite books was “Wacky Wednesday” by Dr. Seuss. Since we constantly talk about how wacky my oldest is, some Wednesdays I will be sharing what I think are pretty Wacky stories, quotes, and silliness from our lives. Enjoy!

There is a Modern Family episode where Phil (the dad) talks about how much he loves driving his kids around and the conversations and time he gets to spend with them. I have been reminded of this quite a few times lately whether it is one or both of my girls in the car. Maybe it is a result of not having been able to spend time alone with them for so much of the last year? Maybe my girls are just getting cooler? I’m guessing it is the first one, right? There have been many times lately where we are just driving along and I remind That Little Girl that I am one lucky That Girl to have them in my life. Such an overwhelming emotion to have while we are just trying to do something so simple as getting from Point A to Point B. Sometimes the conversations get so random and silly it is more like Coffee in Cars like Seinfeld is doing which is pretty great, too.

That Little Girl has been asking some really good questions. She thinks things through. Sometimes she is a little too worried about life in general, even taking on a lot of the adult worries. Who can blame her after the last year? My mom and I have been spending some time planning and discussing an upcoming vacation. That Little Girl has heard the discussions, but other than asking her what sort of things she may like to do, we had not been making it her issue to plan the vacation. Obviously, I’m not going to tell you where we are going and when… but it is a vacation that requires planning and reserving and scheduling things. Driving along one night, That Little Girl told me she was pretty worried that That Baby would not get to do some of the things a baby needs to see and do on the vacation. That Little Girl thought we should add an extra day so she herself could show That Baby those things. Crazy kid actually got what she wanted because my mom agreed with her we needed more time to do everything. Try explaining that to That Little Girl! It is really just a coincidence and we are not staying longer because of her big revelation.

I am lucky that my girls get along so well. I can only imagine the dynamic duo they will be in the years to come will be quite the power force to contend with, not just for myself and That Guy, but anyone trying to mess with either of them! They already get the giggles together. We had to be somewhere recently and That Little Girl was due for a nap. We weren’t planning to leave for a bit, however, That Guy came in and told me That Baby was really getting sleepy so we hightailed it out of the house thinking that she would sleep in the car and we could drive around before we had to be anywhere. All was quiet in the car. That Little Girl was looking pretty sleepy. That Baby was playing with her hair, a sure sign she was about to fall asleep. Next thing I knew, it was giggles galore in the backseat. Without looking back, I asked That Little Girl to stop instigating and let her sister sleep. It was met with her telling me that it was That Baby starting it and she was trying to rest. So I kept driving, expecting her to calm down. After thirty minutes of non-stop giggles, we headed to our destination. At one point, not a single one of us could keep a straight face. I mean you really can’t get mad about a missed nap when it is caused by giggles!

My recent favorite, however, was when it was just That Little Girl and I headed out and she wanted a sugary treat. She was having some resting time in the backseat and I told her I wouldn’t get her a treat because all the sugar would get her wound up and if she wanted to rest it wouldn’t be good timing. I said something about it making her jittery and possibly causing her to be hyper. She did not know what either of those meant, so in trying to explain it to her I used the phrase, “more energy than you know what to do with making you act crazy”. She came back with, “I won’t get crazy. Just tell me how to save some of the energy for later. Like tomorrow.” Oh kiddo, if only it worked that way!