Surprise Ride
“Pack Up, It’s Time to Gooo!” Have you ever announced a Surprise Ride at your home? Back in the day while we were raising children, we planned a trip to the unknown sporadically! We would tell the kids to drop everything and get in the car and we would GO! Did it go without a hitch, goodness NO!
I recently asked our children if they remember the Surprise Rides from early in their childhood. They range now from 19 to 26 in age. The oldest did, the two middle children said no sadly, and the youngest one told me it sounds like something I would have planned. I’m not going to lie, I was a little bit sad there were no profound memories.
Fortunately, I do retain some of those moments in my life. Like the time my husband took our boys out of school unexpectedly and rode a train to watch a Cubs game. All to get rained out and have to come back home. The biggest one was waiting until the night before a trip to Disney to announce the surprise ride was going to take a whole day to drive to! That was definitely a fun one!!!
Not all surprise rides were of great magnitude. Sometimes it was simply telling everyone to get in the car and we would end up at the local ice cream parlor. It may have been to a park for a picnic. Either way, it was the element of the unknown that made them so much fun for all of us.
Life is full of planned events. Calendars on our phones are lit up like Christmas Trees telling us where we need to be next. Sometimes, it takes an unexpected moment to make a memory. In fact, oftentimes the spontaneous times do become the ones that leave impressions. I will admit I was a little disappointed our children did not have more fond memories to share regarding our “Surprise Rides”. However, I do believe that those times were part of the makeup that allowed them to this day to cherish the feeling of being brought up in a loving home.
It does not take trips to Disney or a Baseball Game to make an impression on your child. It takes giving them your undivided attention, be it only for a trip to a park to push them endlessly on a swing for 20 minutes. Raising a family is more than making sure our kids are fed, educated, and attending camps to ensure they succeed in their chosen interests. It is giving them that feeling that only we as caregivers can give. The one that lets them know that unconditionally they are cherished, wanted, and loved.
Tell me where you plan to take your next Surprise Ride!
- Miss Connie with Big Play in a Box
If you need some inspiration for ways to make some of these moments, head on over to my website to learn more about my mission! www.bigplayinabox.com
1 comment
Love these stories! Thanks for sharing.