Mommy Monday ~ Dancing in the car

I just got back from a weekend trip to see my sister and also did a little bit of work while I was there.

Road trips aren't my favorite, not gonna lie...although traveling with a 13-year-old and an 11-year-old is certainly much better than the days of bottles, sippy cups, diapers and pacifiers.
When we traveled back in the dark ages, there was no iPad, iPod or dvd to keep the kids quiet.

And there also wasn't pinterest boards filled to the brim with tips and tricks to keep kids happy on long trips.
It was more like flipping through a parenting magazine, and asking other moms what they did.
I remember packing cookie trays with magnets, aluminum foil to design things with and lots of coloring books and crayons.
We tried the driving through the night thing (not highly recommended with a 6-month old and a 2-year-old) and we tried leaving super early and going that route as well.
I also have a very clear memory of frantically looking for a drug store to buy a pacifier for the crying baby in the back seat.

While the stories are always fun to look back on and laugh about.. during the trips themselves?
They just weren't my idea of fun.
And still, not so much.

So back to my trip this weekend.
We hit traffic. Again and again and again.
There were accidents, construction zones, and dead animals on the road.

When we finally made it home and the boys were getting ready for bed, I overheard Ry telling Adam that the favorite part of his day was dancing in the car with mom.

And now I can die happy.

Ha. But seriously. Don't we just take life too seriously sometimes?
I mean, I had a choice yesterday.
I could either groan, complain, and just try to make it through.
Would have been fine.
Would have gotten the job done.

Or...I could crank the music up, and dance like a fool.
I chose that second one.
We were laughing so hard as the cars drove by us.
Some of them gave strange looks, others started dancing with us and ya know what?
That is the kind of mom I want to be remembered by.

Not the uptight, stressed one (which can too often be my tendency. ugh.)
But the fun, easy going one.
The one that understands the importance of taking advantage of every moment we have with our kids.

I was with my sister yesterday and her 3-year-old dropped an entire container of red berry juice all over the floor.
As he kept repeating...sorry mom! Sorry mom! It just slipped...she didn't miss a beat.
Didn't sigh.
Didn't impatiently tell him to move.
She just said...it's ok. 

Because ya know what?
It is ok.
Remind yourself of that tonight.
It's ok.

And do NOT let this post come at you and make you feel guilty because you were the mom who got impatient. Who did sigh, and who did get stressed about the traffic.
It's still ok.
We have all been there.
All of us. Don't trick yourself into thinking that some moms have it all together and never have bad days.
It just ain't true.

You aren't perfect, and you are not expected to be perfect.
Just decide that the next time they spill a drink? You just make a joke about it and laugh it off.
Just decide that the next time you are stuck in traffic? You just dance.
You give them permission to dance, to be easy going and to have fun.

Be that mom.
Be the one that you pass and she's dancing in the car.
Because I know that that memory with the boys is going to stick with them a lot longer than if I had deemed it quiet car the rest of the ride home.

Life is too short people.
Just dance in the car.