Snacks, Sips and Road Trips

Most of our road trips are just Frankie and me. I have come to enjoy our time on the road, singing kids songs and stopping for snacks. Now that Frankie is old enough to speak, things have gotten easier on the open road. Of course, I have to stop more frequently for a bathroom break, and I think she gets a little frustrated with me. On several occasions she has requested to stay in the car. When I tell her no, she always asks why? My response is always the same “Because, someone might walk by the car and see such a cute little girl and decide they want to take you with them. Daddy and I would miss you very much, so please just come with me.” For the most part this works, although I have been known to use the occasional bride of lollipops and chocolate to get her to agree. Meanwhile, certain lollipops make Frankie act different, crazy, hyper even. Yes, sugar is known to cause some hyperactivity, but artificial flavors and colors put her behavior on another level. I have observed this, and I have found a few brands that don't use these artificial ingredients. Organic Lollipops | Suckers Candy | Fruit Lollipops | YumEarth

My sister Caron turned 50 in February, and I wanted to take Frankie to Atlanta to surprise her. Frankie and Caron have a special bond, because Frankie is EXACTLY like Caron. They look alike, they act alike, they even like and dislike the same foods. I honestly think that Frankie is my Karma for letting Caron take all the blame for my wrong doings as a child. I didn’t know any better and it was just easier, because she was always in trouble anyway. I love Caron and I know how to handle her. She is the middle sister, and I am the youngest of three girls. Caron and I have always been close, not only because we were closest in age, but also because we had to share a bedroom until my oldest sister went to college. Caron’s children are two boys, and she always wanted a little girl. Now that I have a little girl, Caron can love her like one of her own, spoil her and then let me do the hard part, raise her to be a kind human. Before Frankie, I was Caron’s favorite. Now, I wouldn’t dream of surprising Caron without bringing Frankie along.

The drive to Atlanta is approximately 5.5 hours, 6 hours with bathroom stops. I always pack fruit and drinks in our cooler with healthy snacks and lunches to avoid eating trashy food on the road. On this particular trip, there was bad weather and flooded routes, so we took a different route than usual. This took about 7 hours. Frankie is a very talkative child. We have spoken to her like a grown up since day one, no baby talks really. I think this paved the way for a very well-spoken toddler. She is also very inquisitive. As you can imagine, this makes for a very long car ride. There is only so much you can talk about with a 3-year-old on a road trip. Sometimes it is nice to listen to music or just enjoy the scenery in silence. The only silence I got during this trip was when I gave her something to eat. But I didn’t want to overdo it because it could cause her to get a belly ache. The few minutes of silence I got during this car ride, although sparing, I cherished.

Typically, when we make the trip up to Atlanta, we plan to spend a week. This trip was just for the weekend Friday- Monday because I had to work Tuesday evening. My husband didn’t come because, I didn’t invite him, that explanation is another story, for another time. Anyway, he stayed back in FL and used the time to repaint the ceiling and walls in the kitchen and living area. When we make the trip for a longer period of stay, I try to make frequent stops and let Frankie play at a playground or do some sort of activity to help break up the trip and tire her out. On this particular trip, the weather nor the time frame allowed it.

My daughter talked non-stop the entire drive. “Mommy, why are those clouds gray?” “Mommy, is the rain ever going to stop?” Mommy, can I have a snack?” Mommy, how much longer?” I would reply with how many hours we have left. “Only 2 more hours and we will be there.” She would say “ok, let's count, 1, 2, 3, 4…. mommy why isn't you counting? It was exhausting. We played I spy, we sang songs, we counted, we did all the things you can do to keep a toddler occupied. Most things don’t keep her attention for longer than 15-20 minutes, so I was constantly trying to come up with other activities.

I had almost run out of ideas when it hit me. I should start teaching Frankie about the power of the mind and manifesting. I wanted to teach her that she is in complete control of her own destiny. She was not happy about the rain, nor was I, so I told her to visualize blue skies. She asked me what that meant, and I explained to her that she imagines she sees blue skies. I told her if she needed to close her eyes to imagine it, she could. As I looked to the North sky, I noticed that some blue was peeking through the gray clouds. I told her to look at the blue sky and concentrate on that part of the sky. I said, “try not to look at the gray clouds.” She told me she was having trouble not looking at them. I said, “ok, imagine all the gray clouds are white.” I used the same process I used when we were working on meditating. I talked to her through what I wanted her to imagine. Blue skies, big puffy white clouds slowly moving through the sky. So puffy you feel like you could jump in then and they would poof around you like the softest pillow. I told her to imagine the sun rays being so bright you have to squint your eyes. She really enjoyed this activity. I do not joke when I say that the sky  started to clear up. The gray clouds rolled south and blue skies began to peek through with white puffy clouds. The sun shone through the clouds, the rain stopped and Frankie was smiling so big, I thought her face would burst. She did it, she made the storms disappear. This is the power of the mind. I explained to her that she is in complete control of her destiny. I can only hope that she will continue to do this throughout her life. My plan is to continue practicing this to help calm her and teach her that we truly can make anything happen with positive intention.