One of the downsides to living in the suburbs is that nothing is a mere “hop in the car and grab something” distance. The nearest grocery store is a 15 minute drive. The gym is 12 minutes away. Target is a 20 minute trip. We spend a half-hour each way in the car to get to school. My sanity resides somewhere along I-70 West.
And most of that time spent in the car, my kids are with me. Usually they’re either fighting with each other, begging for snacks, reading or zoning out.
But there are also glorious moments where we catch up with each other. Where that standard response of “I don’t know” gets forgotten and the kids open up. About their day, their friends, their dreams.
When this happens, I feel like I’ve hit my stride as a mother. Real conversation happens. Sure, sometimes it’s the politics of Disney vs. Nickelodeon, or the merits of Scooby Snacks. But sometimes it’s also about their fears, what they aspire to be one day, and unsolicited proclamations of “I love you.” At those moments, I think “DUDE, this is what parenting is all about.”
In that car, it feels like we’re all in this together. I feel grateful I have my buddies with me to point out a dog’s head poking out of a car, or the bird crap that has splattered along the window.
In so many ways, my kids are my compass, navigating me in the right direction. They point north, to my true self I often forget about.
With that, I dedicate today’s tune to my kids, The Okee Dokee Brothers‘ beautiful “Along For the Ride.”
I know, I know. I haven’t mentioned the insanely talented Okee Dokee Brothers on Kid Tune Tuesday yet. They did, after all, just win the Grammy for Best Children’s Album of the Year for Can You Canoe? which has been hailed as quite possibly the most amazing collection of children’s songs of all time.
Some of the tunes in that album remind me of the bluegrass and Appalachian music I fell in love with in my early 30′s: Gillian Welch, Alison Krauss, and basically anyone that appeared on the soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou?
The Okee Dokee Brothers’ tune “Along For the Ride” has been out a while now, though it still feels fresh every time I hear it. The smooth tempo and sweet melody could very well become your next standard goodnight lullaby.
It’s a song that references classic literary characters like Peter Pan and Tom Sawyer and the relationships with their loves as they leave them behind in search of adventure.
But as the Okee Dokee Brothers croon, it’s much better to have someone with you to share the journey. Why do it alone? That river is deep. And wide. And I imagine, much like my morning commute, it can be boring at times. The ride will be sweeter with someone by your side.
I love that this song can be interpreted on levels small and big. My son hears it as a song about having someone to help you paddle across a river. I hear it as how amazing it is to have someone you can share your life with. Through rocky waves and smooth sailing. Through bumper-to-bumper traffic and breezy joyrides.
Through dog heads out of car windows and bird poop.
I wouldn’t trade in my traveling companions for anything.
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