Three years ago when we were shopping for a minivan there were a number of things on my mind: mileage, age, color, etc. A DVD player was not on my list. I felt like it was really "good" for kids to have to battle it out over miles and miles of road-trips, grocery-trips, sports-trips and every-other-kind-of-trip you can imagine. So when we found our minivan and it had a built-in DVD player I figured it would be an occasional treat for the kids. Fast-forward three years and it has become the center of any and all time spent in the van. Not a huge fan of letting my kids watch hours of tv at a time - and with the time we spend in the van escalating I decided to exert some self-control and limit the DVD watching to longer-than-20-minute-trips.
Let me paint you a picture of our "drive" home from the gym this afternoon.
Naomi: mooOOOMMM! my throat hurts.
Mom: I'm sorry, I'll get you something to drink as soon as we get home.
Naomi: but my throat reALLLYYY huRRts! aaaGGGGHHHhhh....uggHHH (insert some sort of guttural sound) MMMOOOOMMMMMMM MY THROAT HURTS!!!
Mom: You know what is NOT helping your throat? Screaming. (Glancing into the backseat to see the boys battling it out in some sort of boyish cat-fight)
Naomi: What?!! Screaming? What doooOO YOU MEAN? THE SUN IS IN MY EYES! ARRRRR - MY THROAT! MY THROAT! MY THROAT!
Mom: Naomi! The sun is not hurting your throat!
Naomi: Well. It's not helping!
Mom: (Taking deep Lamaze-type breaths. Didn't need it in labor but use it all the time now.)
Calvin: IGHTING-IGHTING-IGHTING!!!
Mom: Talmage! What is wrong with Calvin??
Talmage: He's mad that we're not fighting anymore.
Naomi: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Talmage: (Having figured out what I have know all along) Mom please turn the movie on! It's the only way to get some quiet!
Mom: (Pondering the wisdom of my 6-year-old) Okay.
........
Naomi: I guess my throat doesn't hurt.
A DVD player is now #1 on my list. I will go without leather, automatic locks/windows, air-conditioning, and maybe even heat but you will not find me in a minivan without a DVD player.
