Over my 37 years, I’ve driven the stretch of road from Texas through the midwest more than 100 times.
Wait. 100 times? That can’t be right. It seems like SO MANY MORE.
And maybe it is. As a kid, my grandparents lived in Minnesota so we drove from Galveston to Minnesota at least once a year–sometimes more, sometimes less.
Then, in college, I drove this in reverse, Seward, Nebraska to Galveston several times a year.
After that I graduated, fell in love with a Nebraska boy, and my parents moved to Kansas (all roughly the same five years), and I started doing the drive in reverse again…our family was north and we were south.
One hundred round trips of roughly two thousand miles each…wow. How much money have we spent on gas? How many bags of Cheese and Pretzel Combos have we bought at gas stations? How many hours of being copped up in a car and chatting with people I love? How many road trip games have I played on this stretch of highway?
How many potty spots?
Speaking of potty spots, how many times has Maddie, our old Cocker Spaniel (who’s lived in Texas nearly as long as we have) done her business next to whizzing cars (no pun intended) on the side of I35?
And speaking EVEN MORE of potty spots, the kids are such troopers about making this trip. They’ve done it dozens of times now and know not to drink too much so they don’t have to be the one who has to pee. They know to pack books and DVDs and as Catie says, “and we love to chat together in the back seat!”
Really the whole road trip is an exercise in family bonding, just like it was when I was a kid. I think this impossibly long road trip builds their character. The kids learn to entertain themselves, they learn to be creative, they learn to tolerate a little discomfort.
And, they learn patience.
Including Maddie, who “got” to wear sunglasses this trip…much to the entertainment of her fellow passengers.
