One More Ride

Over the past few years it has become increasingly difficult to get my whole family into the car. This is primarily because we are now a two car family. If there is ever an option in which two cars could be argued as an alternative, that argument will be made. There will be no more sitting in the back seat, watching the world go by. Not for our son. This is due in large part to his deep and abiding affection for being behind the wheel. My son drives his parents in a lot of directions, and if he had his way it would be in something other than his parents' Prius.
There is also the simple matter that our son's parents are no longer his most entertaining friends. He has a close circle of associates who share his values, interests and age. In order to compete with this, we would have to offer him something bigger, better, faster. The back seat of a Dodge Charger? Probably not. Maybe something German and even more expensive. Okay. The truth is the back seat for anyone in our family is not really a great option. Now that we tend to have conversations that involve all three of us at any given moment, whoever is wedged back there between the roar of whatever is coming out of the speakers will automatically have their part of the discussion limited to, "What?" or "Huh?"
Gone are the days when we could strap our little boy into his car seat and hit the road with the playlist ready to go. As long as we kept him surrounded by his favorite things, we could drive for hundreds of miles stopping only for fuel for the car or ourselves. In those days, it might also require a trip to McDonald's which would give us the food we needed and Happy Meal toys which would buy us another couple hours of preoccupation with the world in the back seat.
We don't have that same deal anymore. The world outside the car has become much more interesting than any tchotchke we could dangle in front of him. There were real cars out there, after all. Making noise, passing us, as we sometimes passed them. Most of them were far more interesting than our family car. Now he's interested in taking his car on road trips of his own. There's not much of a back seat, but he can still bring someone to ride shotgun. Every so often, I get that ride. And every so often, my wife gets that seat, and I squeeze into that cramped back seat. Where you can't hear a thing, but we are all together. For one more ride.