I’m writing from the passenger seat of our Prius, driving through a cloudless twilight in western Minnesota. We are en route to Fargo to visit my family.
A fresh mix CD is in the stereo, the snow is quietly melting into the farmland, and it’s a beautiful night for a drive. We enjoy the music, we occasionally sing along, we look out the window, but mostly we talk.
If anyone asks me for marriage or relationship advice (which they don’t, but that’s ok) my best tip is to find someone you never grow tired of talking to. Marriage is a lot of long car rides and waiting for things at restaurants.
I never run out of things to say to Sam, and vice versa. Add two little voices with their thoughts and observations, and the 250 miles to Fargo breezes by.
Here are a few snippets of Wiant car talk from this evening:
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Evie: Here are 3 annoying things: When your cat complains a lot, when you drive off a cliff, and when you get into a car crash.
Monica: The first one is annoying, but the others are serious problems. “Annoying” means something bothers you, but it’s pretty small.
Evie: OK, here are 3 annoying things: When your cat complains a lot, when you have too much email, and when you go to a meeting and find out it wasn’t actually important.
—–
Monica: Why are crisp and crispy basically the same word, but used to describe different things? A fall day can be crisp, but never crispy. Apples and lettuce are crisp. Bacon and potato chips could be either, but fried chicken is only crispy.
——
Evie: You know how you try to remember something, like a dream you had or something from a long time ago, and it’s like a bubble where if you stare at it too hard, it pops?
——
Felix: I drank it all up. Hey, why didn’t I drink it down?
——
Sam: Let’s stop and get coffee at Caribou.
Evie: Can I get a Caribou?
Sam: No. You can only have a reindeer.
Evie: Noooo! Wait, what?
Felix: I want a reindeer!
—–
We’re 73 miles from the North Dakota border, Evie is looking at stars and she discovers Orion’s Belt and asks why she can’t see the rest of him.
Sam tells her of the best star-watching place he knows, the family cabin in Montana. We should go there this summer. It’s a 15-hour drive… But I think we can handle it.
