Cars...a Blast from the Past

Last night Colin wanted me to sit with him in the recliner chair in the living room to watch him play "Cars" on the Wii. As I sat there with him and watched, I thought about the time long ago when we saw the first Cars movie in the theater.

It's very important to my parents for our family to do things together. As a result, they occasionally plan a huge family vacation where we all get together and do something really fun. When I say "all", I mean my sister, brother, and me and our families (spouses, children) and my parents. We have had many fun vacations together, going to places like: Hyatt Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, Islamorada, Florida; Point Clear, Alabama; and most recently, a cruise to 3 Caribbean islands.

During the trip to Islamorada, my boys were 2 and 4. Cars had just premiered in theaters, so my parents took us all to see it. Our entire family sat in the theater, and we watched this movie that ended up being one of my boys' favorites of all time.

Last night, sitting with Colin as he played his Cars Wii game, I remembered how we used to ask him, "What did Lightning McQueen do to try to win the race?" He would smile and stick his little tongue out and laugh. It was so cute. I asked him this same question last night to see if he would still do it, but instead, he just answered me in words, "He stuck his tongue out." "Show me," I said. He wouldn't. :-)

I also remember that for some reason, Colin was really afraid of the tractors when Mater would "tip" them. Colin didn't like the noise the tractors would make when they would tip over. I remember having to console him during those parts of the movie. As I watched a tractor tip over on his game last night, I thought of that with a bittersweet smile.

Another extremely memorable thing about that trip to Islamorada is that it was that vacation that my dad "re-proposed" to my mom. For a short period from about 2002-2005, my parents were separated and then divorced. But, sometime in late 2005, they started "hanging out" again, and that summer of 2006, my mother joined us on the big family vacation in Islamorada. On the last evening of the vacation, my dad gathered us all in the room he and my mom were sharing, and then gave my mom a card. In the card, he asked my mother to re-marry him. She said "yes", and you can imagine the tears that were flowing in that room from everyone! I will never forget that vacation! :-)

That was a good summer for me. My parents were reuniting, the incredibly challenging school year I had just endured was finally over, and I was looking forward to staying home with my babies the following school year. It was truly a time of redemption after a period of hard times. For that, I will always be thankful!