Joy is always better when shared

I remember wondering if my parents were brave or just crazy when they told us we would be going on a two week vacation in an RV rental. I was 15 at the time, a bossy mother hen to 4 younger siblings.
We weren’t always friends, the five of us. The two youngest, Everett and Lynn fought every single day. They seemed to love it, doing things to irk one another, picking fights for no apparent reason. LeGrand was quick to choose a side and join in the commotion. The fights always ended in yelling, or tears. I was bossy perhaps, but didn’t like to fight. Dad’s temper was enough incentive for me on that subject, but somehow not enough for them. So I adopted the roll of peacemaker (more like enforcer of the peace with threats to get dad if it didn’t stop).
Try as I might to be the peacemaker, I could never seem to fully avoid fighting with my 11 year old sister, Lee. She was so very different from me - dramatic, whiny and picky. And yet she was also so similar - thoughtful, tenacious and stubborn. In a battle of wills over, oh who knows what now, neither of us would back down. And so we usually ended up in a scuffle, scratched and covered in slap marks, crying. I truly hate that I fought physically with my sister.
Knowing all of this, you can now understand my surprise that my parents wanted us to drive and live in a 200 square foot home for 2 whole weeks. I certainly didn’t want to be in such close quarters with my bickering family for that long. Why on earth would they want that?
They sat us down one evening and discussed the itinerary. We would drive Northeast into Wyoming, visiting Devils Tower. Then we would make our way into South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore. Then we would travel west into the three corners area of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming to visit Yellowstone National Park and from there back home. Those were the major stops, part of a neat little loop they had planned. They had charted out all the KOA’s we would camp at along the way.
The close quarters RV issue began to take a backseat to the exciting sights and KOA swimming pools. Maybe I would even meet a cute boy or two at one of the campgrounds.
The day of our departure arrived. We left, much later than scheduled of course, dad threatening to leave us all behind if we didn’t hurry out the door. Our first adventure came just seconds into the trip when dad started to back the RV out. That RV was the longest vehicle my dad had ever driven, and a full 5 minutes were spent backing up, turning the wheels slightly, pulling forward, backing up, repeat. So as not to plow over the sidewalk and into the neighbors garden across the street. After a few choice words from dad, and LeGrand whining that the trip was already ruined, we were off.
We saw what we set out to see, though not without incident of course. There was plenty of bickering and many more choice words and threats of turning around from dad, but more than that, I remember realizing we all had one thing in common. We all appreciated the magnificence of the earth and the beauties thereon. We each stared in awe at Old Faithful, belching and spewing hot liquid into the air. We gasped at the size of the Buffalo we saw grazing near the country road and speculated on what they must be thinking as they saw our giant noise making machine go by. We marvelled at the naturally made tunnels we drove through in the South Dakota mountains. We walked the trail around Devil’s Tower, amazed and curious about how such a formation came to be, especially in the middle of that flat area.
I will never forget the sights we saw, but more importantly, I will never forget how I felt knowing my family understood and shared my joy and awe.

*Names have been changed

This post was written as part of the Group Writing Project over at Baby Lune. Visit her blog on Sept. 1, for links to other participants of this project.

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August 31, 2007 | Filed Under Group Writing Projects

Comments

6 Responses to “Joy is always better when shared”

The Traditional American Vacation on September 1st, 2007 12:59 am

[...] family actually did it. They did it when she and her four siblings were teens and tweens. In an RV. And they survived. With just a few slap marks… Technorati Tags: family vacations, road trips [...]
Susan M on September 1st, 2007 11:58 am

I can’t believe you can remember that so well. Our family went on a roadtrip when I was 12 and I barely remember any of it.

I only brought along one book, The Outsiders, and I seriously read that thing about 100 times (and never got sick of it).
Corrie on September 1st, 2007 2:21 pm

Blaine & I have recently been thinking about taking the kids on a one week RV trip down the coast.

I have fond but faint memories of an Rv trip I took when I was 5. I know the kids would love it, but I’m a little chicken to actually try it.
Holly on September 1st, 2007 8:41 pm

We did something similar when I was 15. Only we had a station wagon that pulled a tent trailer and I only have three younger sisters. Fun memories though. How neat to write about it. I should do that with my memories.
my minivan is faster than yours on September 2nd, 2007 4:40 pm

Some friends of ours are just back for a month long RV trip with a 7, 5 and 2 year old. We thought they had lost their cotton-pickin’ minds but they said it was an amazing trip.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, my kids screamed all the way to the gym this morning (3 miles away). Rv- still a few years away for this family!
Jessica on September 2nd, 2007 10:22 pm

What a great memory–I would love to do this with my kids when they’re older, and can appreciate it more.

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