9.13.2007

Latest Trip to Utah -- Part I: I could have been home by now

I feel the need to attack this latest trip from the back end to the front end.

First of all, I made the entire 7+ hour drive home without Scott. I always think it'll be no big deal -- I'll probably even get to sing along with my fav iPod tunes but oh no, this trip wasn't pretty. Usually Henry's great about entertaining himself with a few cars but this time he wanted a new toy/book every 3.7 minutes. Then Ruby started drifting in and out of sleep, waking up screaming, all the way from Pocatello, Idaho to Idaho Falls (about 50 minutes). At one point I had my fingers in my ears, humming hymns, trying to drown out Ruby's wailing, Henry's incessant requests for another new toy, and my desire to get out of the car and walk home. And then I subconsciously started blaming Scott for moving us all the way from conveniently-located Idaho Falls up to "BFE" Bozeman. If we still lived in IF, I would have been home way before Ruby even deserved real resentment from me. I mean seriously, how pretty are those falls?


Anyway, then I got over it. Of course I like Bozeman and Scott didn't just "move us." I consented and supported the move from the get go. It's just an annoying tendency I have to sometimes blame Scott when things become frustrating or difficult. Oh the joys of being married to me.

Anyhoo, our FIFTH stop of the trip (there was a total of six, by the way) was in lovely Idaho Falls. We enjoyed the nice fall weather on the greenbelt while Ruby had a little lunch of sweet potatoes, Henry chased away all the resting ducks, and Tau embarrassingly enough, became a little too friendly with another uninterested dog. Yuck. And then I became that mother who unremorsefully changes her kids' diapers in public places. At that point, modesty and social politesse was the least of my concerns. Ruby HATED laying down on the grass so I struggled to change her while standing up with her curvacious, white buns mooning every car that drove by. Awesome. Then I tried to re-gain control of Henry's potty training that had gone awry on the long drive so I let him water a few weeds (at least it was in between our car doors, a little privacy involved). Typical to how well our trip was going, he thought it was awesome that he sprayed the car door. (Don't tell Scott. Oh hey babe!? You read our blog now?!?) And then he got his shorts wet. After an underwear change, I put him in his carseat with no shorts on. So for the next 45 minutes, he repeatedly asked, "Where my shorts?" "Mama, where Henny's pants?" "Hey, I need pants!" and so on.

Thankfully and FINALLY, both kids fell asleep until right before pulling into West Yellowstone where, THANKFULLY, we met up with Scott who was driving home from the Wind River Range in Wyoming.

So the ride home was a long one. Why do I keep doing this to myself?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I couldn't. I don't know how you did it, because I think I would cry the whole way home.

Wendy said...

You are brave. I'm still very hesitant to attempt the drive from So. Cal. to Utah. Good for you :)

Unknown said...

Celia! You are killing me right now! Seriously, "curvacious white buns"? LOL!! And don't worry. I share the tendency to blame others when things go wrong! Our poor husbands!!

Adrienne said...

I second Kim's comments....every cry out of Ezra's mouth this first year has somehow been Jim's fault.
What an adventure! You are brave to even attempt it....but let this story serve as a reminder that I should not attempt to fly alone to Hawaii with two small kids! At least your chaos was limited to the privacy of your car, and maybe a few cars passing by. I would have to share that nightmare with an entire cabin full of people!

Cody and Nikell said...

We're thinking about driving to Utah for Christmas. Now I'm not so sure! I am also a blamer. I'm beginning to think I didn't consent or support our move even though I did. Who lives in Missouri anyway?

Celia said...

The driving is not so bad if you have your spouse. That's the good part. Because if we plan together, leave together, drive together, we have no one to blame but ourse-- I mean, the kids. Ha!