Thursday, April 2, 2009

The Happy Family



I love this trend that so many SUVs and Minivans have going now-a-days with these "family stickers". These stickers are part of my entertainment as I drive from here to there with the children. I love to see the ones with a bunch of children lined up all the way across the back window of the car, or the ones with what appears to be twins.

Today, I saw a SUV with a set of family stickers that was truly unique. I wanted to take a picture, but figured I would be risking the lives of my children, mine and the other people on the road with me by doing such. It had the typical Dad, Mom, a couple of children, and a dog. What made this "typical" family seem all of the sudden atypical was the fact that the Dad's body was missing from the waist up. Ha ha ha ha! I just had to laugh! I could not help myself. Maybe his wife got mad and peeled off the top half of the dad, maybe they are divorced or separated. Or as Nick says, maybe a ninja came up and chopped off his head. (Nice) I don't know. But, it was funny.

That got me thinking. Really, when we see those stickers plastered from car window to car window, we really don't know what they represent. They could symbolize a happy family, all lined up with each sticker showing a special interest. Or, they could merely be a representation of what we wish our family was. There is no fighting in the stickers, no sadness, no tantrums, no low self esteems and no heartbreak-just happy moms, dads, and children. There is sometimes, though, some small little hint that things are not always so happy. I have seen family stickers lined in a row with either the mom or dad missing. That is not to say that these stickers represent a sad family. It may actually be the contrary. Some people who have experienced a divorce are much happier after the divorce than before it. And, you know how I feel about happier parents being better parents.

In closing, I have been looking for some of these stickers for my minivan. I have not really looked very hard, but now I intend to. Because for us right now, what is shown on the stickers: a happy dad, a happy mom, very happy children, and a happy dog is a very accurate representation of us.

1 comment:

Jessica said...

I've also seen those as address labels as well. You're right, you never really know what goes on behind closed doors. You always want to believe that evrything is good, but you just never know.