Road Trip
When the wedding invitation arrived in the mail we were excited. This would be the fifth out of seven weddings for my group of college girlfriends. We had each found someone we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with, and the best part was, we all approved of each others’ partners! How often does that happen? Then it hit us; the wedding was being held in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh. We debated and debated; neither of us had the time to take a day off of work that Friday or Monday to make the travel easier, neither of us wanted to sit in the car for over five hours on the turnpike. Then we finally decided; we cared enough about this couple and being there for them on their special day that we would make the trek.
I never expected that this unanticipated road trip would turn into a literacy event in my life. As the time drew on though, and we toured the long, boring road that is the turnpike, my husband and I commiserated that we were both bored by listening to music and decided that listening to an audiobook together was a great idea. We turned on The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien and were instantly whisked away. It was really special to sit there with him being immersed in the same world. Joel had read the book before, but it was in high school, and he was excited to experience it again as an adult with more background knowledge and maturity to bring to the text. Without even talking about it beforehand, we would each take turns reaching over to the dashboard to pause the audiobook and starting conversation regarding what was going on. He would question, “did you understand that part?” or “where do you think the relationship between these characters is headed?” I would indulge him with the kind of responses you would expect from an English teacher, but I decided I wanted needed to get his point of view as well. I started pausing and professing to him different predictions, analyses, and opinions to see if he was seeing the text in the same way I was.
We went to the wedding that night. We watched meaningful vows take place, shared laughs and drinks with our friends, and danced the night away. It was a great time and we were both overjoyed that we had made the journey to share in this special time with our friends. But when the night came to an end we hopped back in bed and knew that we did not have to dread the ride home the next day.
We got in the car and immediately looked at each other and knew. Without a word, I turned on the audiobook again and we began the same process as we had on what seemed like a never-ending endeavor the day before. Today, it seemed like it would fly by- listening, pausing, discussing, analyzing- all with the person I care about most in the world. I truly believe my husband and I became closer through this experience. We were able to have not only a more pleasant car ride, but we were able to connect in a way that we had not before all because of literature.
Erin Cryder is a freelance writer specializing in all things childhood and education. She is a high school English teacher, Reading Specialist, and Mama to one feisty, adorable toddler. To learn more, contact her at erin.cryder@gmail.com.
