{"id":752,"date":"2012-07-16T19:04:04","date_gmt":"2012-07-16T23:04:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.positivelyparenting.com\/?p=752"},"modified":"2015-12-04T12:57:03","modified_gmt":"2015-12-04T17:57:03","slug":"unpacking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/parenting\/unpacking\/","title":{"rendered":"Unpacking"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
We were only in the car for four days, but the minivan looked wild and ransacked.\u00a0 My husband escaped to work after bringing in the bags, the clothes on hangers, and the pac-n-play (thank God for him), the kids were enjoying our home; looking at their toys like they were brand new.<\/p>\n

And then there was me.\u00a0 Standing in the burning D.C. sun, peering into the car.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Stuffed animals with tinsel tied around their necks<\/p>\n

Lollipops, half-eaten and dropped, covered in Goldfish dust<\/p>\n

Broken crayons and lid-less markers<\/p>\n

Random parts to fast-food restaurant toys and Elmo stickers<\/p>\n

DVD covers, minus the DVD inside<\/p>\n

Water bottle lids and candy wrappers<\/p>\n

Apple cores stuffed into cup holders and Highlights magazines, torn apart<\/p>\n

Hair bands, barrettes, underwear, one shirt, one sock, four pairs of shoes, and one bathing suit bottom<\/p>\n

Half-eaten cheese crackers and bingo pieces<\/p>\n

Lip-gloss and a toothbrush<\/p>\n

And the wipes, my heavens! The wipes!\u00a0 Dozens of wipes used to clean hands, then balled up and tossed on the floor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And that was only the back of the minivan.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I sighed the long sigh of the beleaguered parent.\u00a0 Everyone talks about the planning, the packing, the fun<\/em> fun<\/em> fun<\/em> games for the long long long trips!\u00a0 How to stay in a hotel room!\u00a0 The apps!\u00a0 The healthy snacks!\u00a0 The good bathrooms along I-95!\u00a0 Family-friendly parks!<\/p>\n

But no one talks about the UNpacking.\u00a0 Everything that is left behind.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>BUT, I know there is happiness in this car; I know that this detritus is sign of a good adventure.\u00a0 Signs of mom loosening the rules, and of Dad singing his Sinatra.\u00a0 Of saying, \u201cyes, let\u2019s get ice cream again,\u201d and staring up at the Georgia stars late at night (through the sunroof, of course.)\u00a0 Of putting in another<\/em> DVD, listening to Ramona Quimby, Age 8 on CD, and singing along to Adele. \u00a0The lollipops and the Skittles, the Cheezits and the Goldfish.\u00a0 The faint smell of the barbeque we ate, the wedding programs, and burnt-down sparklers we held as they bride and groom waved from the convertible\u2026riding off to their new life in the sticky Georgia night.\u00a0 All of this stuff, <\/em>it has to be there.\u00a0 Otherwise, it is a just car and a trip of no consequence.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If you want to make the memories, into your life a little trash must fall. \u00a0And yes, I will implore, almost beg, start to threaten and eventually appeal to their good natures, and the girls will clean the crap out of the car.\u00a0 They will do it, grumbling and eye rolling, whining and shrugging.\u00a0 But like a family pet, the work falls to the mother.\u00a0 It always<\/em> falls to the mother.<\/p>\n

So, with my trash bag, I go in\u2026smiling and knowing (trying)<\/em> to remember:<\/p>\n

This trash is our first family road trip.<\/p>\n

This trash is a sign of good<\/em> parenting.<\/p>\n

This trash is happiness.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We were only in the car for four days, but the minivan looked wild and ransacked.\u00a0 My husband escaped to work after bringing in the bags, the clothes on hangers, and the pac-n-play (thank God for him), the kids were enjoying our home; looking at their toys like they were brand new. And then there was me.\u00a0 Standing in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[473,495,474,475],"class_list":["post-752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parenting","tag-driving","tag-happiness","tag-road-trips","tag-snacks"],"yoast_head":"\nUnpacking - Meghan Leahy Parent Coach<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mlparentcoach.com\/new\/parenting\/unpacking\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Unpacking - Meghan Leahy Parent Coach\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We were only in the car for four days, but the minivan looked wild and ransacked.\u00a0 My husband escaped to work after bringing in the bags, the clothes on hangers, and the pac-n-play (thank God for him), the kids were enjoying our home; looking at their toys like they were brand new. 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