There was nothing more fun than planning family vacations. We would save for months looking forward to our beach trips. We always went with another family. Kids would pop from one car to another at every stop. It was impossible to keep 4 adults and 4 kids on the same potty breaks and every time we would stop, we’d have to visit the comic book racks. That’s where we would always find my youngest, Kevin, reading and begging for another “Incredible Hulk” comic book.

I would always pack activity and snack boxes for each kid to cover the four-day drive. We put a lot of thought in those boxes of snacks and games as they were our life savers. If we kept the kids busy, they would not ask, “Are we there yet? On an hourly basis. The other frequent comment was, “Mom, Karey’s on my side of the car again! Look, she has her whole side, and her foot is still touching me! Her feet stink and I think she just farted!” I would reply, “Karey, please don’t touch your brother, or your father might become distracted and kill us all and then you’ll never see the ocean again!” That usually worked. Moms are excellent at spreading fear and guilt.

Those were the days of no cell phones or automated directions. We’d have walkie talkies to talk to the other car, our Triple “A” trip tickets and the person riding shotgun had all the state maps and the responsibility of not getting us lost. St. Louis to Ft. Meyers Beach was at least a two-day drive so we’d plan a side trip to Daytona Beach or a day at Disney.

One time our map took us through Indianapolis. Surprise! Someone had a blond navigator because Indianapolis was several hours in the wrong direction. I admit I get lost easily (even in Tanglewood.) I am an awful navigator but as bad as I am at navigating, it’s a lesser evil than me being behind the wheel on the interstate. It is always a blessing when we hit Florida, “The land of U-turns!”

Once we arrived at our destination, we no longer heard, ”are we there yet?” and  we kind of relaxed at our parental duties. We headed out to dinner one night after a brief stop at a Quick Trip. Later, we arrived at the restaurant and noticed we were missing a child. We lost Kevin! How can 4 adults lose one small child? You note I shared the blame with the other three adults because I was a hysterical mess and had no idea where we had stopped or how long we had been without him.

Cooler heads than mine guessed where we had made our last stop. Back then there were as many Quick Trips in Florida as there are Dollar stores today. We drove slowly and stopped a few times without finding Kevin. Finally, we drove up to a Quick Trip and saw a large man, comforting a crying Kevin! As I jumped out of the car expecting a tearful hug and kiss, I was surprised instead to receive a well thought out lecture from my seven-year-old shaming me over how a mother could lose her only son. He was livid that I just drove off without him and I was the worse mom on Earth. I couldn’t disagree with him. A couple of drinks later, I relaxed and thought Kevin would make a good lawyer. The experience became one of my most cherished memories of Kevin growing up! He surpassed his mother when it came to dishing out guilt.

Now a days, our family trips are vacations where everyone agrees to fly to a destination. There are no questions like “did you go potty, so Dad doesn’t have to stop?” And no road gift boxes to keep kids busy. The kids have cell phones, I-pads, and TVs in the car. They miss out on activities like counting cows on the side of the road or play, “I’m thinking of something red with spots on it.”  Now it’s just me and Daryl with our phones and navigation systems. I never say, “Are we there yet?” and Daryl never complains if I touch anything on is body! But I do miss the olden days!