Mommy road trip: Feasible or fantasy?

Maybe it's the holidays crushing down on me like a thousand pounds of tinsel. Maybe it's the fact that before I moved to New York, I drove across the country 13 times for one reason or another. Lately I've been dreaming of a road trip. Me. Open road. Driving. Alone. Or with a friend who doesn't want anything from me but conversation and maybe gas money. All that danger and country to get into.

Then I saw this video about two moms doing the same, and sweet as they are, I felt embarrassed. I mean, what is this? Carpools gone wild? Thelma and Louise take a spin around the block and get back in time to make dinner?



This is the opposite of what I'm craving, which, infeasible as it may be, involves vast unknowns, hairpin curves, run-ins with shady strangers, and changing routes on a whim. I'm not saying I'm running out the door tonight--or any night, for that matter. I've got a family full of its own crazy surprises. I get what is wonderful (and rare) about that. But nights like tonight, when the air is cooling down fast and all the smart birds have already headed south, I feel ready for the road and the luxury of getting into trouble. Does anyone else get these bouts of road fever? What do you do with them?