When our grandparents did not come to us to celebrate Christmas ... well we went to them. Everyone saw us equally - if we went to Louisiana for Christmas, then we went to Arizona for Easter. Thank goodness we never worried or asked how Santa would know where we would be if we went somewhere else - we just figured he did because we moved around anyway.
Let me tell you, those trips were just wearing on us ... all of us! I guess we played all the "car games" that other travelers did. You know, "Are We There Yet?", "Don't Touch Me" and "Can We Stop? I Need To Pee!". We never did very well playing "Let's See Who Can Stay Quiet the Longest" - mom's favorite. We read, colored, picked on one another, napped for very short bits of time and Marcia would play piano on the arm rest (if she got lucky enough to sit next to the window).
On occasion, we provided entertainment to other travelers. Since there were four of us kids we had a station wagon - maybe mom and dad thought we would be more comfortable in it. No, maybe they figured there would more room and we would not play "Don't Touch Me". We would each be doing our own thing and for whatever reason we would all pile in the back end ... and start picking on one another. Then one of us would whine and one would cry and mom would tell us to "behave or else". Well, we all got along instantly on that challenge. We would then all mash ourselves to the very back by the window and laugh and say (in that singsong taunt that kids do), "You can't get us. Mommy can't get us." Was it something we said - she would fly from the front seat to the back seat - and in a giant leap from the back seat to the back of the wagon. Hey wait, there was nowhere for us to go. "Or else" won that game.
Yes, people in the front seat of other cars laughed in amazement - children in back seats stared with horror in their eyes. The memories of those family trips! Oh, you ask if we learned from those trips? Nah, we played the same games over and over again.
On occasion, we provided entertainment to other travelers. Since there were four of us kids we had a station wagon - maybe mom and dad thought we would be more comfortable in it. No, maybe they figured there would more room and we would not play "Don't Touch Me". We would each be doing our own thing and for whatever reason we would all pile in the back end ... and start picking on one another. Then one of us would whine and one would cry and mom would tell us to "behave or else". Well, we all got along instantly on that challenge. We would then all mash ourselves to the very back by the window and laugh and say (in that singsong taunt that kids do), "You can't get us. Mommy can't get us." Was it something we said - she would fly from the front seat to the back seat - and in a giant leap from the back seat to the back of the wagon. Hey wait, there was nowhere for us to go. "Or else" won that game.
Yes, people in the front seat of other cars laughed in amazement - children in back seats stared with horror in their eyes. The memories of those family trips! Oh, you ask if we learned from those trips? Nah, we played the same games over and over again.
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