Maine-ly Rain

Traveling on a rainy day, in our Denali, can be difficult for my husband.  Tractor trailers spraying mist, dirt and grime in front of him, obscuring his vision, as well as rain pelting the front windshield like small BB's.

But for me and my children, it's as if we never left the comforts of our family room. Our vehicle transforms into a cozy living space and for the next 8 hours of travel we sit back, relax and enjoy.

My boys gear up for their movie marathon. The ultimate decision is what movie to watch first and what snack bag to dive into.  Juno was the top choice, seeing they hadn't seen it before, then comes The Italian Job and finally Man of the House with Tommy Lee Jones.  The pretzel bags open and salt crumbs fly like dandelion seeds during a major wind storm in the city of Chicago.  The bed pillows are positioned and the 'Scooby' blankets get draped over them for added comfort and security.  At the ripe old age of 14, these childhood comforts cannot be put aside by the boys.

I sit up front with my writing instruments, paper and imagination.  But my favorite activity, while riding, is leisurely thumbing through my Creating Keepsakes magazines while I sip on my coffee.  I love examining each page, observing the layouts, materials and new methods in order to create the perfect memory page for one of my many scrapbooks at home.


This is one of the few times I can just sit and take part in an activity I enjoy without the interruption of answering the phone, the buzzing of the clothes dryer, our dog barking to inform me that someone is at the door or one of my boys yelling, "Mom, can you help me find ....."?


Believe it or not, this is my own little slice of Heaven. But what I really enjoy, is when we are together and we have all stepped back into a time when there were no cell phones, x-box systems, Nintendo DS games, ipads, computers or ipods.   


I have them all to myself for two weeks with no distractions. Just good old family conversation, board games, paddleball on the beach, building sand castles and flying kites. Real family time!