Family Closeness

My car is sick. It has been for a couple of weeks now, but just like I do with my kids, I waited it out to see if it would go away on it's own. Of course, it only got worse. So I called to get an appointment with the closest Hyundai dealership/service place (an hour away), only to be told that they could not get it in on Friday (one of the few days off I have) and would look at it on Monday morning. Since I have to be at work on Monday morning, my husband decided we'd have to take it in on Friday and leave it for them. There would be no dropping it off Sunday evening in their lot and leaving the keys in the car. He wanted to hand the keys to a live person...leaving me carless and totally dependent on him for at least the next 5 days. Our only other vehicle is his Chevy S10 truck...which is a stick shift...which I can't drive. Oh well, it can't be that bad, right? I'll just have an excuse to spend more time with him.
Did I mention that the seating capacity in this truck is about the size of a large suitcase? When we bought it Hillary was a scrawny little girl and Parker was just a toddler. We all fit neatly across the seat on the test drive, and we thought "This is great! And we have the car, so we won't all need to ride in it very often. But if we do, we can manage."
Can I just say that the only one who hasn't grown in this family is me.
So this morning, we all piled in together to go to church. Being the smallest, I was assigned the sliver of seat by the door...one cheek on Hillary's lap and another cheek pressed against the window. Parker squished in between his dad and sister, legs tangling up with high heels as the stick shift jutted dangerously close to the Temple Family Legacy Maker. The only one who looked comfortable was the driver...silent and sun-glassed.
But we made the best of it...
Mile 1 - "Mom, could you tighten your butt muscles so your bone won't poke so hard into my thigh?"
Mile 3 - "I'm hot!" We turned the "air conditioner" on medium...which means we cracked the window a little more.
Mile 7 - "Hillary, get your high heel out from between my toes!"
Mile 7 1/2 - "Parker, did you remember to put on deodorant today?"
Mile 10 - "I can't feel my foot."
Thank God it's only 11 miles to our church. We arrived, 10 min late, and piled out of that truck like clowns at the circus. Sunday school and church seemed a short reprieve. I think that's the only time I've ever actually wished for Pastor to preach longer. But we managed to get back in the truck and home in one piece, thanks to some yoga moves and olive oil.
Hopefully, that's the last time we all four have to be at the same place at the same time until I can get my car back.
But at least I can say, with honesty, that we are a "tight-knit family"!