Funkytown

My family just HATES long car rides. When the kids were little, they usually fell asleep as soon as we took off and slept most of the way. And they were strapped into their car seats, which created a natural space boundary between them, keeping them from fighting over which side of the back seat someone's pinky was on. As they got older, a kind of natural seat selection came about. Parker always sat behind Yancey, and Hillary sat behind me. Our legs were in proportion (Yancey long and Parker short...Hillary long and me short). Now that BOTH kids are daddy-long-legs, the fight over who gets to sit behind mom is on. I scoot the seat up as far as it will go (and my knees are still not quite touching the dashboard). With all those arms and legs crammed in the car, it's like riding with a family of spiders. Cranky spiders.

So to pass the time, I become Mama DJ...a human juke box...playing various songs from various cds...a little something for everyone. And when this becomes boring, we sing. When I say we, I mean me and the kids. 007 is usually stone-faced and silent...reflective-sunglass-covered eyes never wavering from the road ahead...taking every car that passes us as a personal challenge...determined to beat our own best time for this trip...while the kids and I sing at the top of our lungs, dancing and making silly pantomines of the words. Because we love him, we try to include him...by getting close to his face and making weird faces, or squeezing the sides of his lips to make him "sing". This is great fun for us, but his steely concentration is never broken...which of course makes us laugh even harder. It's kind of like playing with a toy, or pestering the dog.

Anyway, this weekend, as we traveled "over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go" the kids said, "Mom, let's sing!" At first we tried to sing songs from Disney movies and Broadway musicals. But none of us ever knew all the words and we ended up going "hmm, hm hm...da, da dum." So I popped in the Shrek 2 soundtrack and we belted out song after song. We sang about being "accidentally in love" and how "people just ain't no good". And then, the familiar techno-beat intro of Funkytown...a song special to the three of us. You see, about 4 years ago, when we knew we were leaving our familiar town for foreign territory...moving from the only place our kids had ever known to a place we had never even known existed...we were a little sad. It was summertime...our stuff was in boxes...and my husband was away for a week at a basketball camp. I had to do something. So I played Funkytown over and over...the kids and I memorized the words...and made up a dance routine. "Gotta make a move to a town that's right for me..." It was cute and choreographed. And it made us laugh. And it eased the pain.
So even though it's now "home" and we've grown to love it. This town will always be a little "Funky".
Sing it with me now..."Won't you take me to....Funkytooooowwnn!"