Ten, A Lemon, Twelve

At what point do you realize that you sound just like your parents? When do you start thinking like they do, reacting like they do?

We took a road trip over the weekend. Two words that often strike resounding agony in any parent of a young child. Road. Trip. Any time you spend several hours in a confined space with little ones locked in their seats can be a potential recipe for disaster.

This trip wasn’t the worst we’ve ever had. We were on the road with our children-ages eight, seven, four and three-for around four or five hours. It didn’t take long before we heard the familiar grumblings of, “Mooommy, I’m bored!” and “Daaaddy, how much longer?” My husband and I looked at each other in utter disbelief. This coming from a car full of kids with every type of electronics surrounding them? That is when ‘it’ happened.

I don’t know where it came from, or how the words came out of our mouths, but my husband and I said, “When we were your age, we didn’t HAVE the things that you have,” followed by, “We had to make up our own fun.” We quickly exchanged glances, surprised smirks on our faces. We sounded exactly like our parents! It was true, though. Kids these days have everything known to man and they’re BORED?! I digress…

We went on to tell the kids how we had to make up different car games when we traveled. We taught them how to play “Car Bingo” and how to find every letter of the alphabet on license plates and road signs.

The two youngest tried to count cars that passed by. Our three year old daughter kept saying, “seven, eight, nine, ten, a lemon, twelve…” The three boys began to tease her, “A LEMON?! Mommy! She’s saying lemon!’” Out of nowhere, our ‘parents’ suddenly entered the car again. “Guys, let her count and don’t tease,” I heard my mother say through me. My husband, Adam, shot a smile at me and shook his head.

I guess it’s inevitable. The car trip was a good lesson that made us realize our parents raised us, and will come through as we raise our own children. Being in the car with our little ones was a strong reminder of that. I will have to say though, it really was nice to turn the devices off and be together as a family. A lemon years from now, these will definitely be the times we’ll remember.

Bea lives in North Carolina with her husband Adam and children Christian (8), Ethan (7), Preston (4) and Lauren Elizabeth (3). Read more amazing stories by Bea at Peanut Butter Hair.