You are not a shipwreck

(This is just a wee little post, a perfect snack-sized read for a Monday evening)

Early Saturday morning (and please remember you are on Madeleine time here, “Early” in this context means 8:30 am) my sister Lizzie, Olive, and I hopped in the car and drove to Edmonton. My mom had driven out from Victoria to spend her birthday with her two granddaughters so we were driving excitedly toward this little family reunion.

About an hour into the drive we tired of the smattering of music on my phone, and Lizzie started digging into an old CD case I had in my glovebox. This was vintage stuff guys. Some of these CD’s were mixes made for me by high school crushes, some were from early university days, and all were absolutely ridiculously awesome.

For the next two hours we had it ALL. It began with vintage Britney, Xtina, and Beyonce (basically the holy trinity of girl pop, yes?), some classic Biggie Smalls (whaaaat?), then heavy into the Oasis, Goo Goo Dolls, Matthew Good Band contingent. Great dames Nancy Sinatra, Gloria Gaynor, and Diana Ross popped up as welcome surprises, and then tunes by Hilltop Hoods, the Tragically Hip, Regina Spektor, and a random Silverchair song rounded out this odd amalgamation. A soundtrack to my memories.

We were in heaven. Lizzie and I sang along at full volume – isn’t it funny how the words all come back to you? – windows rolled all the way down because it was +30 and I don’t have air conditioning, hair whipping around our faces, Olive gamely trying to keep up from her car seat in the back.

It felt like summer. It felt like the road trips of our childhood. Sticky seats and ice cream pit stops, sketchy gas station bathrooms (where I now spend 78% of my time hissing “DO. NOT. TOUCH. ANYTHING!”) and a destination that never seems to get any closer until suddenly BAM, there you are.

Now my mom and Lizzie have headed home, my sister-in-law and her adorable baby have gone to the cottage, and Olive heads to her dad’s tomorrow morning. I have a project I need to finish up by the time she gets back Thursday morning, and my brother sent me this absolutely perfect motivational video.

(Do you ever experience this sort of wonderful synchronicity? Where something, or someone, comes into your life just when they can most teach you? I have been experiencing this almost constantly since November. It never ceases to delight me.)

Anyway, I think I might be setting this as my alarm clock. Is it weird that in order to get anything done I basically just need someone to yell at me? Like, constantly?

I am an ADULT! Happy Monday, darlins.

[Warning: This video has LANGUAGE. But it’s also the best.]