But…we did it anyway. We left in the middle of the night. The fiasco of who’s alarm should be set (it turns out neither of us set our alarm, but my leg fell asleep and up we were, only two hours later than intended) was nothing to the excitement of figuring out how to get the speakers just in the front (I was driving the rental van back to Enterprise when I figured it out – *sigh*).
The first hour wasn’t so bad. Although Toddler-tron was awake, we couldn’t blame her. I mean, a big trip, getting up while it’s dark, parents acting strangely on edge: all things that would make any 18-month-old worth her salt highly suspicious and unable to sleep a wink. Until, that is, she exploded into the Powder Keg (her new nickname, thanks to Uncle Gardiner) and we halted our listening of The Hobbit to enjoy the silence of her sleeping.
So the myth of Child sleeping in car is not quite busted. She slept. Three hours. At 5 AM, sleeptime was over and the fun was beginning. By that point we had faced a 45-minute delay, completely stopped in western Pennsylvania thanks to a new bridge being built (it turns out that 4 AM is the time they put up the big beams and completely stop traffic, and it also turns out that AAA did not make a note of it on the TripTik). But we were making good time, and we treated ourselves to Kroger donuts and a little walking-potty break.
The myth gets busted at this point. Toddler-tron, aka Powder Keg, was awake and demanding every bit of my energy until noon. I’m not complaining, I’m just pointing out that those of you with children who sleep in the car should be thankful. Say a decade in thanksgiving. Enjoy that bambino. Strap her into the carseat and DRIVE.
Since the myth was busted, we came on back in the daylight. If we’re going to be exhausted, we might as well respect our circadian rhythms, right?
