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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

I'll Be In The Slow Lane

Yesterday, while driving home from a play date, I was passed by a Toyota Yaris.  If you don't know what kind of car that is, think Geo Metro.  Were talking tiny and no power, but really good on gas.
There was a day where I would have absolutely had a fit over that, and honestly, would have sped up just to pass it back up, and reclaim some of my pride, had it managed to slip by me.
Yesterday, though, I just let it go.  In fact, I was intentionally driving slowly, in the slow lane.

You see, I was trying to coerce a nap out of The Little One.  Driving has always produced naps for us, even when all else failed.  At this point in our lives, naps are a highly prized commodity, too.  The Little One is nearly four years old.  Naps should have been gone long, long ago, but this child, in a stark contrast to her older sister, will still willingly take them, in the right conditions.  She also still needs them many, many days.  I have nearly perfected the conditions for a great nap experience for it.  IT starts with an earlyish play date.  Actually, any really early play date can bring about a nap, but one timed about 10:30 is just right.  It is then followed by lunch with friends somewhere fun.  By the time we are done playing, eating, and then hitting the potty, she is so primed for a nap, I don't think the setup could be much better.  So, where ever we are, I try to drive home slowly enough to allow her the time to fall asleep, and not to slowly that she realizes I am drawing out the drive, when only leads to questions.  Occasionally, we have to drive a different way home, or go around the block, just to extend the drive, but once her head falls onto her shoulder, and those eyes close, I know I am golden.

I don't even care that we have to sit in the car.  It makes me so much more thankful for a smart phone with a Kindle application, Angry Birds, and a phone charger for those two battery suckers.  I just pull into the garage, where we can sit in the shade and away from bad weather, roll down the windows, and relax.  I know I am in the car, but it is a quiet, peaceful break where I actually get to read un interrupted.  You can't ask for much more than that once you have children.  I always carry water with me, too.  So, I am seriously set to go.  If the day is really nice, we may go sit in front of The Big One's school for 30 minutes before pickup while The Little One naps.  It really doesn't matter where, as long as she naps, and I get my quiet, everyone wins.

So, if you pass me in the slow lane, be sure to check out the back seat.  I've probable got a preschooler with a head nodding back and forth as she slowly succumbs to the force to sleep in the car, and in the front seat, I probably have a smile on my face in anticipation of the next 30 minutes or so of serious quiet and relaxation, in my car.

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