Understated Road Trips

Does this ever happen to you? You go through life forgetting to do things that you enjoy? You become so busy with your responsibilities and day-to-day tasks that you forget to do things that connect yourself to a part of your personality, your character? And when you re-experience them, you say to yourself “I have forgotten how much I enjoy doing this, I should do this more often!”

When I was younger, my parents took us all across the country to visit our relatives. I was the youngest, and smallest; my designated spot was on the floor of the backseat while my brother and sister stretched their legs over me. I had slept so much during those trips that when it came to be my turn behind the wheel, I didn’t know which direction to go. When I became old enough, I rented vehicles so I could relive those experiences. For me, I enjoyed the drive just as much as I enjoyed the destination.

What is it about a vehicle that is so liberating? Is it because it is just you, a steering wheel and miles of pavement rolling beneath your feet?  This is where I play the music is so loud that the rear view mirror trembles and my heart simulates the beat of the bass.  This is where I practice my chair dancing techniques and play invisible musical instruments.  This is where I reconnect to my childish self, the momentum of the music urging me to sing at my worst and act the silliest.

The understated road trip – something I have neglected to do in the last few years, but definitely something I should be doing more of.

It’s Tuesday, so here is a tune for you. I have to give the radio credit for overplaying popular songs – by the time I returned home, I had learned this down pat. Elle King – “Ex’s and Oh’s”