\u201cWo,\u201d she told me while sitting down in the passenger seat. \u201cI\u2019ve never gone on a trip this long upfront.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWo\u201d was right, as the same thing struck me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A 3-hour car ride to Tampa. Just a few inches apart. What in the heck does a dad and his 14-year-old daughter talk about for that long?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wo!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was just a dad and his daughter getting away to visit some family. The two of us. My sister was in town from Chicago. My dad wanted to show off the tear-drop trailer he was building. We hadn\u2019t seen my aunt in who-knows-how-long, and you always need to make sure she\u2019s staying out of trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was something we hadn\u2019t done \u2013 couldn\u2019t have done \u2013 in the longest time as everyone battened down the COVID hatches and stayed close to home. As safe as we were being \u2013 masked up and carrying an extra 50-gallon drum of hand sanitizer \u2013 it was stretching us out of our safe confines and comfort zones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We planned a quick trip. Quick visits. Keep it safe and socially distant. Check-in. Check-out. Double-time. That was the Thompson way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need a shirt that says, \u2018We came, we saw, we got the [BLEEP] out,\u201d I told my daughter. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of the family motto.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the car ride down? That wouldn\u2019t be quick. Nor all the driving around town. Confined to the same car for hours on end. No one to talk to but ourselves. What if we ran out of things to say? (I haven\u2019t been watching nearly enough YouTube videos for conversation starters.) What if there were awkward silences? How many times could I say, \u201cSo \u2026 um \u2026 how\u2019s school going?\u201d before the poor kid screamed, \u201cDAD!!! If you ask me that ONE MORE TIME I\u2019m going to jump out of the car and DROWN MYSELF IN THAT MOSQUITO DITCH!!!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, that would be bad to explain to my wife. \u201cWhat did I tell you about keeping her from drowning in a mosquito ditch?!? Don\u2019t \u2026 ask \u2026 about \u2026 school!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I hadn\u2019t thought about this part of the trip. Hadn\u2019t worried about it. I was busy thinking about all kinds of other things in the lead-up. Where we would get food. How we would avoid getting COVID because, well, it was another thing my wife warned me about. How we would manage the visiting, an errand or two and a museum in a little over 24 hours before getting back in the car and driving home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t until I sat down into the driver\u2019s seat that it hit me. She didn\u2019t have her Kindle loaded with movies and TV shows like all other trips. Nor were there any ear buds to drown out adult conversation with music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This meant we had to \u201cinteract.\u201d Talk time. But what would we talk about?!?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turns out everything. And boy was it great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some parents complain that their children never tell them anything. On this trip, I couldn\u2019t get mine to shush up if I tried. How lucky was I for that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, I wouldn\u2019t call it a whole lot of \u201cdeep\u201d conversation. We pointed out cows, and wondered where they go to sleep. How her problems understanding compass points stemmed from confusion as a kid when people would say \u201cUP ahead.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s why I always think north is whichever direction is UP-hill,\u201d she confessed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cO \u2026 K,\u201d I said. \u201cUh \u2026 you need to study harder in Geography!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We talked about my philosophy on driving, since she can start herself next year, and Broadway musicals and all myriad of things. Then we pointed out more cows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n