Backseats & Burritos

I've been gone...not  for very long...just a short overnight roadtrip with my parents.  In some ways it reminded me of the trips we'd take as a family growing up.  My two younger brothers and I in the backseat.  One memorable time we drove from MN to WA in a Dodge Omni!  Anyone remember those?  I laugh now thinking about how we'd take turns in the hatchback where we could 'stretch' out.  If it was the right time of day it was the best spot in the whole car.  If it was when the sun beat down through the window, well then it was more like being a burrito in a microwave.  Of course being the eldest, and the 'bossy sister'  (what good is a birthright if not to avoid baking in the hatchback) I made sure one of my brothers was always the designated burrito.  And believe me they smelled like one too after being back there for a few hours. 

This road trip with my parents wasn't in an Omni thank goodness.  We weren't  pulling a royal blue trailer full of  luggage and a cooler of  Grape Shasta and sandwhiches.  We were comfortable in the Grand Caravan, drinks in the cupholders, the temperature a perfect 70 degrees. Tinted windows to keep us from microwaving. We've come a long way baby.  For some reason though, when you go somewhere with your parents you are the child again no matter if you're 42, have 3 kids of your own and buy your own Shasta. 

PROS & CONS OF AN ADULT ROAD TRIP WITH YOUR PARENTS:

CON: You need to pee more often when your'e 42.
PRO: Your dad will stop and let you pee when you tell him you need to.
CON: You have to buy your own chicken sandwhich at McDonald's.
PRO: Your parents treat you to a really, really nice dinner out. 
CON: You can't pick the bed by the window in the hotel room.  Dad wants that one.
PRO: Dad & Mom pay for the room.  Score!!
CON: I can't climb in the middle of their bed if I get scared in the night.
PRO: Thank goodness I don't get scared in the middle of the night.
CON: You are still relegated to the backseat.
PRO: You get to be the backseat driver because you are the one who knows their way around.  And the backseat isn't so bad anymore since the brothers and burritos are a non issue.
CON: While dad is working at the trade show, you are at the mercy of your mother,  who wants to shop, but doesn't want to drive. (that's why you've been asked along on this trip by the way)  So any agenda of your own is out the window.  You are daughter chauffer.
PRO: You love shopping with your mother...and you love driving in the 'big city' so it's not such a big sacrifice.  And you're not driving the Omni. (and mom buys you lunch...and a coffee, and tells you what a good driver you are)

See, so even the cons in this really aren't cons. It was a fun time... my parents are pretty hip for old people.  I'm thankful that they would ask their daughter to join them on a roadtrip. (after that old people crack I might not be invited again however...or even asked home for Christmas)  But I doubt it...I know they remember the Omni days too...so I know I'm the favorite child...I'm the one who always smelled least like a burrito.  See, my birthright has not gone to waste.