Like many, I spend a lot of time shuttling my kids around. I work over an hour from my home, yet I put more mileage on my car on the days I am home with my kids! While I am likely to complain about yet another ride, I also know I wouldn’t give up this “chore.” Okay, I would give up some of it, but definitely not all of it.
My unwillingness to give up this activity does not stem from a love of driving, or a bizarre desire to put more miles on my car than the next person. I don’t value either of these actions. However, something that brings a huge sense of value to my life is connections to other people, especially my family.
My time in the car shuttling my kids is also my opportunity to connect with them about their day, their thoughts, or just their favorite song. By connecting the car rides to something I value, I find meaning and joy in a very “run-of-the -mill” activity.
As I was thinking about this post, I realized that finding meaning and value in car rides has a history in my family. My dad and I both often reflect on long car rides we took together when I was growing up. The trips were often to go skiing, or visit family, both fun activities. Yet, I know for me, the car rides are what I remember most. Once again, it was about connection.
Now for those of you who are thinking that teenagers don’t talk in the car…my connection with my dad wasn’t about talking. We actually connected over the comfortable silences. We are both pretty introspective people. We now smile over the fact that we could spend hours in comfortable silence, caught in our own thoughts. Then, one of us would share a bit of what we were thinking.
I can also add that I take great pride in the fact that I convinced my dad, a lover of Barbara Streisand, Neil Diamond and what my sister refers to as “massage music”, to listen to and appreciate my music choice of Nine Inch Nails! His willingness to be open to my perspective in that way converted those long rides into a valuable part of our relationship.
Car rides are not for everybody. Often, they are viewed as a necessary evil for getting from one activity to the next. Whether that is true for you, or not, the idea of finding value translates to a multitude of every-day activities.
It is so easy to feel like days are a big “to-do list.” To be honest, they often are for me. However, I find there are times when the activities on that list feel like things I need to get over with and times when they feel far more fulfilling. The key distinction is whether I can connect those routine activities to a greater meaning, or to an important life value of mine.
Think about what brings meaning and joy to your life. Is there some way to connect some of the more routine (even boring) activities that you do to those things that bring you value?
If anyone has found a way to make emptying the dishwasher more meaningful, I am all ears!
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