Muffins with Mom – Trapped in paradise – A teen’s tale

Anytime friends get together, it's like being in paradise.

Paradise, an ideal or idyllic place or state. One of our favorite family movies is Trapped in Paradise, starring Nicolas Cage.  In the movie Cage and his brothers were stuck in a town called Paradise. On a recent road trip, my teen son felt trapped with his Mama and her friends and that’s part of the reason he made reference to this title.

My son was not initially part of our girl’s night travel plans, but due to unforeseen circumstances, he became our traveling companion.  He packed his overnight bag, grabbed his spending money and we were on our way. A four hour car ride with four women, was not at the top of my son’s weekend plans.

The thrill for my son was the anticipation of finding a sports store where he could buy the latest “fit” (sports outfit) and boots. As we drove, I asked my son if he wanted some of the Canada Dry pop I packed for the trip. He made a grimace and said, “No, ginger ale is for older people. It doesn’t taste like anything, just bubbles.” I guess asking him to listen to a few hit songs from the 80’s would have been out of the question.

In order to accommodate my son traveling with us, one of my friends brought along an air mattress. As my son pumped up the mattress, he looked at me questioningly and said, “Ma, why is this like a bike air pump? What happened to the battery operated kind of mattress?” I turned away to hide my laugh.

The next morning at breakfast my son informed me that the air mattress deflated sometime during the night. He said he tried to turn over onto his side to get comfortable, but felt like he was rolling over on concrete. That is when exclaimed, “I feel like I’m trapped in paradise.” I asked my son to explain what he meant.

“I was glad to get out of the house, I had money in my pocket, but I didn’t expect this kind of adventure. I had to listen to everybody crack corny jokes and I feel like I had to shadow the adults.”

A teen's (window) shopping trip.

 

So there you have it, a teen’s version of being trapped in paradise.

Have you ever had an adventurous road trip with your child?