****Going on a looooooooong car trip? Tired of whining and "Are we there yet?". With the holidays coming up, travel is bound to increase, so fight the boredom with this game of creativity and fun from my mommy bag o' tricks.****



"EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWW! Cow poop!", squeals my son, inciting instantaneous giggles from his little sisters at his remark. Well at least that was better than the whines of boredom I was hearing for the last 25 miles. After about 5 more miles of poop talk, things revert back to whining again. I really needed to come up with something fast, other than the 5 different versions of road sign bingo that we played the first 50 miles, or I was going to go insane.

"Hey!", I say excitedly, interrupting a "Mom, she's looking at me" and a "Don't touch me!" volley. Sort of getting their attention, I press on. "What would the world be like if turtles could fly?", I casually remark. THAT got their attention AND threw them into hysterics. Oooookay, I think, this could work. After the laughter died down, I throw in, "And what would the world be like if birds flew backwards?" Another burst of laughter follows that remark. Then my son gets into the swing of things and says, "What would the world be like if ev'rybody's butt danced when they walked?" We all have the sillies and the giggles now. My daughter throws in, "And, and, what would the world be like if worms floated in the air?" My three year old chirps, "what the world be like if'n worms float'd in a air?" (Well, she is only three, mimicking is what she does best) We still all giggle and there is magic in the air.

Even though this "exercise in funility" only lasts about 35 minutes, it's mood carries us on to our destination. So, if you are out of ideas and almost out of your mind, try it on for size. You may just find that it not only wipes out some of that "whine time" it invites happiness and silliness to plop down and buckle up in your car, plane, train, bus, bike, sneakers....

© Holly Bliss