QUEEN OF THE ROAD

The day lay empty in front of me.

The lure of the open ride was calling, so I popped the
shades on, tapped into the Thelma and Louise vibe (either/or…not fussy…they
both ogled Brad Pitt…) and cranked up George Michael’s, “FREEDOM”.

I belted it out, baby…

”Heaven knows I was such a young boy (just go with me, here),
didn’t know what I wanted to beeeee.”

Ooops.

The kids.

Yep; maybe I still don’t know what I want to be, but a
Mummy is most definitely what I am.

Good-bye, Thelma.

Good-bye, Louise.

Good-bye, (gulp), young Brad.

As the convertible faded in front of my eyes, the Hyundai
appeared, complete with car seats and two little people clutching teddies and
drink bottles.

No problem!

I vowed early on that I would not (could not) give in to the
boppy, clap your hands, personalised kids CD’s that would inevitably pronounce
my kids names wrong at every opportunity. I have been satisfied with that
decision, except for that one trip where Husband and I sang (shouted) every
football theme song we could think of to keep the baby boy from screaming…over
and over again…but I digress….

You see, I like to sing.

LOUD.

And the car is my stage.

I am the youngest of 5 and as kids we were all piled up high
in the station wagon. We grew up Von Trapp style; without the actual heart
warming “sing together” style. Rather we would all sing a song of our own
choice, and if someone mindlessly crossed over to yours – SNAP!! WINNER!! And
trust me, we were competitive! 5 (or more if the folks joined in) different
songs pounding within the car at any given time.

So today, I have chosen to share 5 of my car singing
tunes…

But I warn you.

I am not trendy.

I am not edgy.

I am not eclectic.

And I don’t care.

1. Let’s be brave and just start with the possible deal breaker.

The Biebs. The new Biebs. I like him. My son can sing along
with him (as good as a 4 year old can) and if that saves me from Twinkly Stars
then I am a Belieber!

Justin Bieber : WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

What I mean is this; if I crank it loud enough and I can’t
hear the kids complaining that the other one is looking at them sideways, than
I say, thank-you, Biebs.

2. Paul Simon : YOU CAN CALL ME, AL

This guy immediately asks the big questions… “Why am I
soft in the middle, now?” Well, I can tell you, Paul, why I am soft in the
middle now; it has an awful lot to do with gooey cheese, chocolate and wine.
Never, NEVER, have I cracked these lyrics; serious genius or abstract madness?
Who knows, but man can I hammer that electric guitar riff in the middle!

3. And in the spirit of honesty, I am going to go there.

Whitney Houston : I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU (The Bodyguard soundtrack)

The only way to do this is a capella. People – make it count!
Make the person stuck in traffic beside you look twice; heck, wind those
windows down and get ready for the key change…Ready???….

“AND I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII…I WILL
ALWAYS (quick breath) LOVE (big breath) YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!”

4. What better tune to think of the good times? The happiest
day of Husband’s life in fact?

Queen : MY BEST FRIEND

We said, “I do”, held hands and left the Church beaming to
this little ditty.

Still makes my heart smile.

5. Pregnancy hormones perhaps, but I do recall driving down the
freeway with this song pounding in my ears and tears streaming down my face.

Andrea Bocelli  &
Sarah Brightman: TIME TO SAY GOODBYE

I am not fancy, I do not normally listen to Opera and I
cannot speak Spanish, but the power and emotion in that song still takes my
breath away. But why do I always end up singing about a “Tsunami Appeal” whilst
I fake the lyrics. Loud, confident; and no one asks questions, right?!

And so my friends, it is now time for me to say goodbye.

The lure of the open road has brought me to the supermarket
and I now have two kids to bribe with lolly-pops and playground promises.

Happy trails.