Riding in cars with Milo

chase  ·  Sun, Aug 30, 2015

We had our third and longest-yet car ride with Milo today, and as before, she loved it. Actually, she was crying when it started, but after the gentle electric motor had zoomed us a couple blocks down the street and Milo had soothed herself with a bit of sucking, she passed right out.

Since we don’t own a car, we don’t plan to spend a ton of time in the car with Milo, but occasionally it’s necessary: we’re going to drive up to Oregon with her for Thanksgiving, and when she’s a bit older we might take some other road trips. So it’s a relief to have some early evidence that she’s not going to be the kind of baby that just freaks out for hours on end.

Actually, every time the three of us are in a car now, I get a bit giddy because it reminds me of all the road trips I took as a kid. I remember weekend hikes with dad in the Cleveland National Forest, and weekend getaways to Las Vegas with mom and grandma, and the strangely compelling novelty of a lumpy hotel bed and fuzzy hotel TV. And I remember that those were my family vacations, and this — this amazing woman I love, and this radiant new girl we created — this is my family now, the family with whom I get to explore again and dust off my child’s-sense-of-wonder hat.

Of course, Milo can’t even lift her head yet, so perhaps I’m jumping ahead a bit. But still. I’m excited.