It's a Freakin' Miracle!

One of my bestest friends gave birth to a new baby girl last month (Mmm, adorable!), so in an effort to give her a bit of a reprieve, I asked if I could 'kidnap' her other 2 cherubs and take them on a day trip along with my own 2 darlings. Piece of cake, right? Wow. I'd forgotten how cumbersome it is to travel with a toddler! NOT because her 2 1/2 year old is difficult to care for in any way *he's pret'near perfect in my eyes* but because of the bazillions of safety steps required just to get the child secured in the car. Tether bolts, locking clips, 5 point harnesses - you practically need an engineering degree to figure this stuff out properly!

Don't get me wrong; I'm not complaining. I wholeheartedly agree that keeping kids safe while we're driving is worth every bit of time and effort required. When my crew were little I happily complied with whatever the gov't standards were. What amazes me, however, is how any of us survived our childhoods with the lackadaisical approach our parents (ie society) took towards road safety during those years. I know there was less traffic back then and cars weren't travelling 100+ km/hr, but still - come on!

Case in point: My Mom says that when we were babies they used to lie us in the bassinet and then set it on the back seat, completely unrestrained, while running errands around town. WTH? In comparing notes with friends, I know many of us have vivid memories of being school-age and sitting on our Mom's lap in the passenger seat, or behind the wheel with Dad while he drove. Heck, after visiting friends at night, I'd fake being asleep sometimes just so I'd get carried to the car and be guaranteed a spot where the action was. No one ever suggested these habits were dangerous and a very, very bad idea.

Our family had one of those massive station wagons with the pop-up seats in the 'trunk' area and my sisters and I loved climbing back and forth over the benches into the 'way back' (as we called it) while our parents were cruising down the country roads. Seat belts? Never heard of 'em. Occasionally, out of the blue, the rear gate on our deluxe mobile would fly open. Nobody panicked, we'd just yell "DOOR!" and the driver would hit the brakes hard (sending us flying around) 'til we heard a solid bang. Problem solved. We actually got quite a kick out of that, to be honest!

Yet another potential death trap was my Dad's work van. It had only a driver's seat and a passenger's seat, so if we needed to travel in it as a family, we'd just set up lawn chairs in the back for us kids ... and Dad would try not to take corners too sharply. (The visual still astounds me!) If it was a long trip, they might toss an old mattress in the back for us to tumble around on and sleep, if necessary. Again, more laughter and 'good times'.

I distinctly remember when they introduced the law requiring seat belt use and how strange and annoying it felt to be strapped in so tightly. People complained and resisted - it was unnecessary and inhumane. Here we are, 30+ yrs later and seat belts rarely get a mention; we've got the greenhouse effect and sky-high gas prices to rage against instead, right?

But seriously ... while it's fun to trip down memory lane and recall all the cRaZy risks we took - and miraculously lived to tell - I don't want to undermine the countless tragedies that must have taken place during that time of naiveté. I think we can all agree that while "ignorance may be bliss", it does have its limitations.

Experientia docet stultos.