More Adventures in Motherhood

Last week I attended a conference in Orlando, Florida. My daughter had planned to go with me. Since she is a new driver I thought it would be a great idea for us to drive rather than fly so she could get some good interstate driving time under her belt.

Since it would take about 8-9 hours to get to our destination, I figured we could just split the driving. We set out Sunday morning bright and early (like 6:30 am early). I drove the first leg of our journey since I am much more of a morning person than she is. When we stopped for lunch I reminded her not to eat anything too heavy since she would be taking over at the wheel.

We get back in the car and head down the interstate. I think we had been on the road about 45 minutes when she started talking about how tired she was and that I probably needed to take over. I'm thinking to myself, "Is this the same child that just a few months ago was begging me to go with her here and there just so she could drive the car????? Fortunately for her, I needed a bathroom break. When I came back from the restroom guess who was in the passenger seat smiling?????

So much for my best laid plans. I ended up driving the rest of the way, which actually turned out to be a good thing because people were driving like maniacs on the Florida Turnpike.

Nine days pass and we are heading home.....I inform my daughter that I'm not falling for the same trick on the drive home :)

We get an early start and stop around 10:30 at Chick-fil-A to take a break. As we are getting back in the car, out of habit I head for the driver's side and then I remember, wait a minute, it's her turn to drive. Before she can get in the passenger side I run around and jump in. She gets a big grin on her face and says, "Darn, I was hoping you would forget." Ha! I am on top of things this time. She ends up driving from Albany into Atlanta and does a really good job. We stop for lunch and I drive the rest of the way home.


The bonus for me was getting to spend a ton of really good time with my daughter even if I did do most of the driving. We laughed, talked about some serious stuff and just enjoyed each other's company. It is times likes these I treasure the most.

A Little Patience Please

For the past year I have been chauffeured around by our 15-year-old daughter. Quite frankly, since I have been the passenger and am paying extra close attention to what is going on around us, I think I can safely say she is probably one of the safer drivers on the road. She doesn't take chances making turns. She actually stops when the light turns yellow instead of trying to fly through it. She goes the speed limit - or pretty close to it. She is cautious and careful. There are mountains that we go up and down with lots of curves and steep grades, which she handles well at the speed limit.

In the process of getting her 50 plus hours of driving in before we go to get her license next Friday, I have to tell you we have experienced some really rude and impatient drivers.

Today, as she waited for a couple of cars to go before she made a left turn, you could see the frustration on the face of the driver behind us. As we made the turn, people were clearly looking to see who in the world was driving that car. Could an experienced driver have safely made the turn before the two cars went by? Yes. BUT, I would rather our daughter err on the side of playing it safe than throwing caution to the wind.

Confession: I have probably been one of those impatient drivers. This experience has taught me the rest of the story. I need to practice patience and make sure I am being a good example to teens who are learning the rules of the road.

Red Light Running

I have to get something off my chest!

In the last two days I have been sitting at stoplights getting ready to move because the light has turned green when someone comes flying through the intersection blatantly running the red light.

Our daughter is turning 16 in 16 days. I think she is a good driver for the amount of time she has been on the road, but honestly I am more worried about the other drivers and their driving than I am about her driving.

I told her this morning that the reason she has to learn to be a really good defensive driver is just because you follow the rules of the road does not mean everybody else will.

A couple of months ago I read an article in Reader's Digest about red light runners. When they asked people why they ran red lights the number one response was because they were in a hurry - not they were distracted talking on their cell phone or dealing with children - they knew they were running the red light!

According to the article, studies show that red-light running is on the rise across the country. In a six-year study, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that deadly crashes at red lights increased at more than three times the rate of all other types of fatal auto accidents.

So, slow down and beware. Running a red light is not worth it!