TRAVELING COMPANIONS

I’ve been on several road trips with just my girls lately. Because David happens to think he has a life too, and Dave graciously agrees to stay home with him to act as chaperone and chauffeur. And invariably these days, Rachel lets Emily ride shotgun both going and coming. She says she’s giving up her fair share of the front seat in deference to Emily’s imminent departure from home. But I think she secretly enjoys being the back seat girl.

And this is why. About thirty minutes into a trip, I will glance back and see that she has built herself a "nest" in that back seat. She will be surrounded by pillows and blankets with only her head and the top of her book visible. And she has that look on her face...the one that tells me she’s no longer with us in the car, except physically. And she won’t be back until she’s turned the final page and absorbed the last delicious word of that book. All of which is really cute, but doesn’t put her on my list of top traveling companions, if you know what I mean. Because I usually need someone to talk to me so I will stay awake.

And if anyone can keep me awake, it’s Emily. Because she can talk a blue streak (whatever that is) and there’s never a dull moment. Don’t get me wrong. She isn’t the perfect traveling companion either. For instance, she pops CDs in and out of the player every two minutes or so. There’s no such thing as listening to a whole song, let alone a whole CD. I call it CD-ADD. Eventually I will beg for mercy and she lets me turn it off altogether. And then comes the good part. We talk. For the most part, it’s enjoyable banter...especially now that we are planning end of high school shindigs and giddily anticipating her first year of college. We can’t seem to exhaust the subjects of if she’ll make new friends, if she’ll like her classes, and of course, if she’ll meet any nice guys.

But then for about 30 minutes of every trip, she will sink into a mini-depression, where everything is negative. She becomes convinced that she’ll NEVER make friends, that she’ll HATE her major, and that she would be better off at community college where MONEY won’t be an issue. The whole thing is kind of weird, and always catches me off guard because she’s never had trouble making friends, she can always change her major, and she knows about college loans. But of course, there’s no arguing with her when she is in Debbie-Downer mode. I just have to wait a bit and she’ll snap out of it. To be honest, I know how she feels. Because almost daily I struggle with similar thought trains, although the issues are slightly different. I mean right now I’m pretty convinced that I will NEVER have kitchen cabinets, that I’ll HATE any that I pick out, and that I’d be better off skipping the renovation because of the MONEY. Perhaps I've created the monster?

Anyway, by the time a trip is all said and done, I sometimes feel a bit shell-shocked. But at least I’m awake, and that’s the important thing. The three of us head out again tomorrow, this time for the real and actual college registration. I don't like it one bit, but I can't wait to see the nest being built in the back seat, and hear the ramblings and wailings in the front seat.

I haven’t had lunch yet but for breakfast I had some vanilla yogurt and a two-day-old Krispy Kreme donut.