songbird's crazy world

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) So despite the pre-holiday meltdown and drama my sisters created, Jen and Becca and I had a great Thanksgiving lunch with Drew, and a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with my parents, family and friends.    I don't think it's a bad thing for two college girls to split their holiday between two sets of relatives, and I think my daughters enjoyed being with Drew's family no matter what they told their aunts. There was no drama at either  home Thursday, though my sisters...let's just say the weekend did not resemble Thursday at all.... Becca spent most of the weekend working!  The job she had at the mall last year -- well, she can work there anytime she wants, and she wound up taking shifts Wednesday, Friday (Black Friday shopping!), Saturday and Sunday.  Nice paycheck for that, I'm sure.    Considering that she doesn't work while at school, the money will come in handy.  Of course, she made time for ...

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) Not only do you have to worry about the way your child drives....you also have to worry about all the other morons on the road. Once again I am dealing with insurance adjusters, tow trucks, body shops, accident reports.... Jen was broadsided as she was pulling out of a parking lot onto the roadway. Jen says the other car came out of nowhere, that she looked both ways before pulling out of the lot and didn't see anyone coming. The guy who hit her says he was doing 30 MPH....but the damage to her car makes me doubt it. The accident happened just south of a very busy intersection, and my guess is that he wanted to make it through the intersection before the light changed.  And, oh yeah, the guy who hit her is NOT a teen driver...he's older than I am.  I keep telling both girls "Drive as if everyone else on the road is a moron, because most of them are." And now we have to figure out how Jen is going to get to work wh...

a 2006 camry solara, a two door model, back with gray interior, with a sunroof! my auto insurance just doubled.

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) So I successfully taught two daughters to drive. Now I have two daughters who firmly believe "have car, will travel." I'm sort of used to it with Jen.  shes had her license for two years now,  she got her car right after she passed the road test.  That first summer, she relished her new-found freedom, driving all over our community. She drove to work, she drove to the store, she drove to hang out with her friends.  Oh, my, did she hang out with her friends!  I spent many evenings waiting to hear the car pull up on the driveway, unable to sleep until I heard the car door slam.  We had many long discussions about what time was reasonable for a young lady to come home at night, especially on a weeknight when mom has to go to work in the morning. Becca  got her license a few months ago, and got a car just a few weeks ago...and already she's starting to drive all over creation. She drives to school (she's a ...

(cross posted at Midcentury Modern Moms ) So I've spent the better part of 17 years as Becca's live-in chauffeur.  There is no such thing as public transportation in our community, so children are completely dependent on their parnets for transportation.  And gradually I slipped into the role of "car pool mom", the mom who is always available to drive not only her own children, but all of their friends, to the mall, the movies, whereever they hope to congregate.   That is, until I became her driving instructor -- and spent many months looking for that invisible brake.  When you're teaching your child to drive, even though it's an adult activity, you're still in the role of parent.   And when she got her driver's license...well, she's been driving all over creation, but not with me in the car. She does not, however, have a vehicle of her own....unless you consider the purple two-wheeler I bought her when she was 8 a "vehicle".  On w...

I think every parent understands the worry abject fear the parents of newly-minted drivers live with. in our town, there is no such thig as public transportation, the only way to get anywhere is by auto. younger teens must rely on mom or dad or the carpool to go anywhere, and parents have at least a semblance of control over their children's whereabouts and safety. as Jen's friends began to turn 17, trading inthose restrictive junior licenses for a regular license and adult privileges, the dialogue became "who is driving? how long have they had a license? where are you going? what time will you be home? text me when you get there and when you're leaving..." and then you hope and pray that your child has common sense and a sense of self preservation.... when Jen finally got her license, that first time she took my car out for the evening....I think I sat here the whole night NOT BREATHING. couldn't sleep until I heard the car on the driveway and she cam...

I am trying to decide if letting Jen get her driver's license was the best thing I ever did...or the worst. Bright and early on her 16th birthday, which also happened to be Election Day 2006, my firstborn child took that gigantic leap into adulthood and made her very first appearance at the DMV. There she got to experience, for the first time in her young life, the torture that I, an experienced driver, have known for all of my adult life. Paperwork...wait for your number to be called...more paperwork...she was photographed, she took a written test....and was handed a temporary learner's permit. So now she was legally allowed to get behind the wheel of a car. That's when the fun really began! Four days later she had her first fender-bender. She wanted to make a left turn...I saw a car coming from the opposite direction...but before my mouth could form the words "don't turn yet"...she did. Well, at least the only thing that hurt ....was paying the repair ...