Over the river and through the woods....

May 15, 2011 - in the car

We're driving back from the grandparents' house today. The kids spent the weekend with the grandma that lives the closest (a cozy two hours away). Bryson and I took full advantage of the circumstances by doing homework and housework, having dinner with friends and sleeping in to appalling hours. To celebrate bringing our kds home with us once again, we stopped a the gas atation on the way out and Bryson bought granola bars to snack on. The kids absolutely love this little tradition and when the bars were passed out Ben said, "Thank you Dad!" then Juliet piped in "Thanks Dad!" and about five minuts after the rustling of plastic had stopped, the little munchkins were sleeping and I was kicking myself for forgetting their pillows AGAIN! Every time I take them down and pick them up from their grandma's I think about bringing some big fluffy pillows for the back seat. Let's face it. Big, fluffy, pillows make just about every situation more enjoyable. But I always forget them! Argh!! I need to staple a post-it to my forehead!

I love our little drives. Singing songs when they're awake, talking about them when they're asleep and just spending those few hours in the car once a month or so reconnecting and enjoying each other's company.

I have a dream of smaller cities and towns beiing linkd by small, high speed trains, large cities being linked by large, passenger trains and all cities larger than a mile wide haviing some

sort of metro or El Train system. Have I lost my mind? Oh the luxury of getting on a train with a book and some activities for the kids and spending quality time together getting from point A to point B. Even if the cost of traveling was equivalent to toll road costs, it would still be

minuscule compared to the gas we use in our travels now. And if the trains were created in a way that made their power renewable (no gasoline) then we could actually help the environment too!! Here are just a few ways that our tains could be powered today: Magnetically, with wind, with solar power and with compressed air. I wish I could build it myself. I would have it done ASAP! Of course, having high speed trains and relaxing commutes between grandparents' houses, won't help me remember to bring pillows!