You Can Find Me In The Car

Like so many other parents I know you can find me in the car this time of year.  It feels like that is all I do some days.  Tonight from about 4pm until 9pm I was in a car with a few moments running in and out of building to deposit various children at various activities and then to pick up said children at various activities.  Ciaran ran the entire carpool with me despite not having any activities of his own on this particular night.  He was rewarded with an ice cream and brownie Sunday and unlimited DS time for our drive.  I think he wants to run carpools all the time now :)

I am amazed I spend as much time as I do in a car considering how much I actually limit my kids individual activities.  We only have one sport going at a time in order to keep sanity to our schedules.  That is not one sport per child, it is one kid in one sport.  The other kids can be in various activities (scouts, church, etc) but only one sports team to deal with at a time.  Sometimes I wonder if that rule is what led my 11 year old to chose swimming which has by far the longest competitive season even if she does not swim year round.

Still besides being a swim taxi we have enough outside classes and activities to keep us busy, art, gym, science, cooperative (all on different days), plus church and now scouts and regular playdates, museum visits etc.  The time in the car really adds up.  I am trying to maximize that time with my kids.  I find they share so much when we talk during this time especially if I manage to have just one child alone - their hearts and minds seem to open so easily and they expose so much during that time.  Plus we are in a confined location with nowhere to go for extended periods of time.  It is really great for our relationships.

When they were little we always listened to audio books and occasionaly we still will but I am finding more and more I want all that driving time to listen to their hearts and hear all about their activities and days while they are most excited to tell me - immediately after it happened.  I don't want to brush that time aside because I am busy or rushing or not interested because later when I make time the moment has passed for them and the sharing is simply not the same.

If you spend a lot of time in the car with your kids, make the most of it - you are trapped there together anyway - it might as well be pleasant and productive :)  Now I don't mind so much that you can find me in the car all the time.