Roller Coaster Roads

”Hold on!” Their mom yelled as she whipped a u-turn at the top of the hill on the empty country road. This made Evee pause her story to her little sister and look. Arianna had no problem waiting for the rest of the story. She’d heard it told to her what she believed to be ‘a thousand-hundred-million-thirty times.’ The story of the first time Evee rode a rollercoaster earlier that summer. Both excited and anxious about it, over and over again she would discuss every detail with anyone who provided listening ears and even to some who didn’t. Her mother enjoyed hearing the story, not for the plot line, but for the emotion and excitement that came through in every retelling.

Eagerly, they looked out the window but before they could say anything beyond an inquisitive noise, their mom quickly explained, as if confused that they didn’t already know, “it’s THE BEST roller coaster road!!”

“WOOOOOO! Yeah, summer!!!! Woooooo!” They yelled, as they flew downhill, windows wide open. They weren’t going any faster than usual. The exciting part was more about how excited their mom got, the warm summer wind blowing across their skin and messing up their golden hair, fresh picked marigolds in their tiny hands being blown like little tornados that they could hold, and outstretching their arms while crying out a joyful noise as loud as they could. The view almost directly downward and without any traffic or stop signs anywhere in sight for miles just added to the joy—it truly felt like this moment could last forever.

Laughing as they approached the next road, close to home, the girls would beg to do it again! Again! But it was time to go home. To the house, at least. Home was with them, wherever they were. The girls were home already, really. They needed to get their beach supplies and play with the dogs for a bit. On the way, they passed the field of cows that were incredibly important to their daily route.

“You’re wrong, cows!” Evee exclaimed as Arianna and their mother joined in. The cows were their own personal weather station. Standing cows indicated clear skies and lying down cows indicated rain. If rain were coming, the air pressure affected their aching joints so there was some science to it. Chaotic science, really. Not exact. Their favorite kind.

So a few lying down cows on a clear and sunny day meant they were about as wrong as a weatherman. To be fair, if one were to calculate the percentage, they were mostly accurate weathercows, really.

Oh no. Now they’ve made them mad. The cows don’t like to be told they’re wrong.

“Here they come! They’re going to get us!” Their mother would explain. Each of them took turns expanding on the story.

“They’re getting bigger! They’re bigger than the barn now!” Evee loved to start with.

“Their wearing rollerblades and have alligators on their backs!” Exclaimed little Arianna. The list went on. And on and on. Sometimes sharks with laser beams, definitely t-rex’s, dragons, unicorns, and even aliens would join in the chase. Giant spiders when they wanted to hear their mom give an exaggerated and audible cringe, most especially if one of them lost one of their long legs.

“Ewwww nooo! My nightmare!!” Their mom would yell into the wind as they laughed so hard they could barely breathe. That would bring up whales, one of their mother’s more eccentric fears, which are hard to work into a land-based chase scene, but they made it happen. Sometimes with pterodactyls, sometimes with dogs driving helicopters. Always with the whale threatening to swallow them all, but sometimes enough to scare away the cows. Maybe the dragons would be on their side this time, but only if tacos were offered as a prize or sacrifice of sorts.

This wild roller coaster-cow taunting-summer drive routine started when the oldest, now 7, was a baby. A baby who did not like car rides like most of her fellow tiny humans did. She would scream. And scream. And scream. Until, that is, her mom discovered the trick. Weird voices, narrating the world as it passed them by.

“Tree!” In a high pitched and silly voice. “Telephone pole!” In a goofy deep voice. “Green light!” Happy voice. “Red liiiiight.” Exaggerated sad voice.

Laughter. Laughter replaced the screams! Ever since, for both babes, she would do something similar, and was more than excited when the kids could finally join in with their own ideas and imaginary details, getting more and more outrageous as they laughed and laughed.

Everything would be okay, she knew. Throwing her free arm out the side window, feeling the wind on her skin, the sun on her face, her hair getting stuck in her mouth. The last part, while not ideal, was inevitable and she’d grown to appreciate it as part of the blissful summer joy rides, as an important part of feeling free. Hair free. Wild. Tangled. Fun without cares.

Just as her kids would stop crying, so could she, from whatever painful thought that might surface. This drive with the kids was necessary to her emotional well being, and on rough days they took extra long ways home and took the same perfect roller coaster roads twice. After rain, they’d find the biggest puddles to splash through on their way to the next hill or field of cows. Blissful joy found in moments once devoid of any significant memories. Driving around, finding the biggest hills, and being chased by an entourage of unsightly and angry cow-villains became one of the most wonderful experiences life has offered any of them. Moments once taken for granted, now used to bring them closer together.