Cows on Cade's Side!

I love the many inside family jokes we have. You know what they are - the little things you say to your kids that have special meaning or come from something funny your kids say or do. I even have them with my hubby. Well today's post is inspired by one of those inside jokes.

I live in Spring, but during the school year I hoof it up to The Woodlands to take the kids to preschool and back. It's about 20-30 minutes one way, and in the beginning I was always looking for ways to make the drive more interesting or fun to the kids so they wouldn't be asking the dreaded, "are we there yet?". Driving along one morning I spotted a pasture full of cows. At ages 3 (when I started doing this) & now at 4 Cade still loves looking at any farm animal, and so I hollered to the back seat, "Cows on Cade's side!" He immediately stopped his whining and asked, "where?" "On your side silly. Cade's side." He got so excited when he saw them! He talked about those cows for the rest of the ride to school and kept looking for more. After dropping Cade & Macy at school I drove back home and realized not only did we pass cows, but horses, donkeys, and longhorns at different locations! I didn't realize that although we live in the suburbs, we're amazingly close to snippets of country. The drive back home after school was spent breathlessly shouting out, "donkeys on Macy's side!" "horses on Cade's side!" Everyday we drove by those cows, and everyday I would point them out. It became part of our everyday routine; so much that now whenever we go somewhere, (especially driving to Austin to see my parents,) if we see cows, someone will shout, "cows on _______'s side!"

Mom's Secret Confession:

I find myself shouting out, "cows on Cade's side!" even when I'm the only one in the car! At first I laugh at myself. And then I get sad. Because I know there will come a day when Cade won't care about the cows. Or he won't be driving in the car with me, he'll be driving his own. Because every time I pass that pasture, I think of my kids, and what this seemingly inane and innocuous little routine has come to mean to me. It's part of us, something that is special and unique to just me and my family. It's one of our memories, our "traditions" if you will - calling out farm animals along the way to wherever we're going.
Looking for the special in the mundane.

Pointing out the sights along the journey.

And it's magical to me.

everyday. magic.