On Saturday, all six of us packed the car and headed for Texas to see my family. We do this drive usually around two times a year. Car travel that involves at least 26 hours of driving can be daunting with four crying out loud, but my kids really love to travel this way. Who could blame them? They each bring a small bag of toys/books for individual entertainment; Chris hooks up a make-shift VCR for movie watching; and of course we have the ever-popular video game hook-up in case someone feels the need to shoot something.
But intermittently there will be some fighting that goes on with such adventures and this trip was no exception.
At one point the younger two were fighting about the video game machine and whose turn it was. Gus screamed, Jacked kicked him, Nick moaned that Gus and Jack were hitting the back of his chair too many times with their scuffle and Becca just wanted peace so that she could read her book. I turned in my seat to face the kids and said, "Ohhh the devil is dancing when you guys fight over games and such. Those games can turn a perfectly happy family into raving lunatics and THAT'S JUST what the devil wants!!" The kids just stared at me; Gus sobbing through his big tears. So Chris brought out the secret weapon: "OK guys, it's time to pray the Rosary!" The kids moaned, "NOOOOOO!! (All except for Jack who was excited since he had recently learned to pray the rosary in his class)" "Yeeeesss!" Chris replied, "It will calm you all down and make you think of more important things like Jesus and the Glorious mysteries!"
There was silence in the car as we prepared to pray, and the kids participated as they should...all except for Gus, who was lulled by all the words. Before we knew it, the kids were in the rhythm of the prayer and we all felt blessed by the few moments of peace that Our Lady provided. In the time we devoted to Jesus and His mom, we were rewarded in big ways: Gus fell asleep, (hey...it's a blessing... believe me...that boy can yell!), Jack quietly resumed his game play and decided to share the video game machine with Nick, Rebecca found the peace she desired to read her book, Chris drove without distraction and I actually found some inspiration for a talk I need to present to the Diocese next week. The Rosary is a powerful prayer and one we should take advantage of more often. Give it a try on your next trip, or better yet, tonight and see what blessings await you!
5 comments:
Glad to hear y'all made it there in more-or-less one piece. Why does it seem that the following always go together?
-Gus and either screaming or crying.
-Nick and moaning.
-Jack and getting excited.
I guess I'm being too logical ;)
THE logic king..second only to Chris. All is well here and not too hot thankfully. Chris has been working on his rover and I've been enjoying the immense shopping opportunities:) Hope all is well in CH and that you are getting some good work in.
You got out of town just before the hot weather hit--going to be 95 tomorrow. Tell Chris he should drive the Rover back (slowly).
All's well up here; I took the opportunity of neither RCIA nor Clemenses to go visit the little Byzantine Rite church in Cary on Sunday. You guys should go sometime--it's a neat experience. I even think the boys would like it.
HA Georgie,
I like the secret weapon! That was a good one.
Buckler,
I knew you'd like it!! It's better than the belt!! Ahhh haa haa!
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