By Riley Winchester

If you ever find yourself driving behind me, you’ll see it. My wife and I, we own a charcoal gray 2020 Kia Telluride. Maybe you’ve seen it. Maybe you’ve seen the stickers on the back. They were my wife’s idea. I always thought bumper stickers were corny, but that’s marriage for you. It’s all about compromises and choosing your battles. So when my wife came home with the stickers one day, I gritted my teeth and said I loved them. We each stuck ourselves on the back of the car. I stuck the dad, my wife stuck the mom, Rae stuck the oldest daughter, Isabel stuck the middle daughter, and Paige stuck the youngest daughter. 

If you ever find yourself driving behind me, you’ll see a happy family of four stick figures. And if you look closely, you’ll see the faded outline of a fifth stick figure that once was there. What you won’t see is how hard my wife wiped away at the remains of Isabel’s sticker, how it was the first thing she did when we returned from the hospital, how Rae and Paige watched and asked me if mom had gone crazy. What you won’t see is that when we shifted over Paige’s sticker to be next to Rae’s, it wouldn’t stick, so we bought a replacement. 

If you ever find yourself driving behind me, you won’t see any of this. But what you will see is a happy family. Look at the smiles on our faces. Look how happy we are. 

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Riley Winchester is from Michigan. He’s been nominated for some Pushcarts and he’s been shortlisted for some contests, but he’s never won anything.