Driver's Ed

"Back in the day" when I was 15 1/2, ready to drive, with learner's permit in hand, WHAT I was going to drive was secondary. I didn't care what it was or looked like, just as long as it had wheels and a motor, I was thrilled.

Son #2 is getting close to 15. He is smelling Driver's Ed in his near future and can't wait to achieve the level of independence that driving brings one.

Thinking I would make his little Freshman day I said, "maybe we will keep my Trailblazer and you could drive it."

#2 Son: Are you serious? (this was said with an incredulous tone. Not incredulous like How Could I Be So Lucky but incredulous, Why The F*** Would I Want To Drive This Car)

Me: Well, I was. (this said slow and drawn out...)

#2 Son: I don't like your car. (this was half whispered/half muttered.

People! My Chevy Trailblazer is a 2005, red/burgundy LT model. Do you know what I had to drive when I turned 16?? A 1967 Chevy Pickup!! That thing was BUTT ugly but I didn't care! It afforded me driving priviledges! Independence! Mobility! (besides the middle console was huge and great for stashing beer).

I don't understand the attitude that I owe him a sexy, sports car. For one thing, I love my boys too much to put them into a sports car of any kind when they turn 16. This is a good kid. I don't mean to blacken his name but its a problem I have seen in his generation.

All I know is that when I was his age, my parents even mentioning that I could drive AT ALL, even if it was my mother's station wagon, was enough for me to throw myself on the ground and worship them.

Is gratitude dead in this generation? Because entitlement seems alive and well.

A Post About Nothing

Sometimes I like (need, want, have) to escape my house and regular life. I love to hike or bike but I especially love the beach. The sound of the water, the firm sand of Galveston under my toes, and a sunny breezy day is sheer bliss in my book. Galveston is no Hawaii or south Florida but it has water and sand which is good enough for me.

Last weekend I told the hubs (always a good sport) that I needed an afternoon at the beach. So, we went.

Oh, and we took Bruno. My big doggie loves the beach as much as I do. He is convinced that he will capture one of the many sea birds flying overhead. I don't know that he has realized that he is not going to wear them out. There are many birds, and only one Bruno. He is exhausted by the end of it.

Can you tell that by keeping him on the leash I am stopping him from catching a bird right at this moment??

Things Seen This Week

This was quite the week for spotting characters. You know the type - people that you cannot believe are for real! Two of them had me itching to grab my cell phone and take a picture but good manners precluded that action.

1. Walking into a department store I spotted a lady of about 65 - 70 years of age. She was bleached blonde, wearing a cowboy hat, boots, vest and super tight jeans that had big letters across her butt spelling "Cowgirl!" - like anyone wouldn't have already figured out what her dream was just by the rest of her get up. She had applied her blue eye shadow and lip stick with a heavy duty paint roller. Think walking cartoon character and you'll get the picture. I was dying to stop her and ask where the costume party was being held. She mosied on into the store and did her shopping in a leisurely fashion as if nothing was awry. I kept expecting her to lasso something...

2. I walked into a nice Mexican restaurant to buy a gift certificate. The lady who was the hostess had boufant hair and was in her mid-50's. Kind of grandmotherly looking. She had applied her Super Frosted Pale Pink lipstick and outlined it with (I am not shittin' you) black eyeliner. I couldn't take my eyes off her mouth! It was freakish! I kept trying to drag my eyes back up to hers but it was impossible.

3. Had some guys doing some work in my backyard this week. One guy had the WORST pants in the world. He might as well as not been wearing them at all. The amount of crack that I saw is illegal in most states. Crack is whack.

I'm just glad tomorrow is Friday.

A Day to Remember

I will never forget this day six years ago. Can it be six years already? The wound still seems too fresh.

I will never forget hearing on the radio as I dropped kids at school that a plane had hit the world trade center. My mind envisioned a small, prop type of plane. But I thought it strange and as soon as I got home I turned on the news. The pictures there and what followed was stunning and horrific. I remember thinking that our world was possibly ending. It did for many that day.

I am from Oklahoma and had already lived through the OKC bombing. We never thought anything could be worse than that.

I will take a moment and reflect on today. I will say a prayer for the families. I will say a prayer for our world and all the people in it.

The New Year

The joys of a new school year.

* Trying to get kids to go to bed at a reasonable hour.
* Waking them up at an unreasonable one.
* Trying to find a spiral notebook with all of the "right" accoutrements!
* Open house

Tonight was Open House at the high school. The husband and I got to walk the schedule of our child. It always bring back memories of my school days. Mainly, how frickin' hard it is to get to class with only 5 minutes in between! Especially, when I run into people I haven't seen in forever and we MUST catch up!!

Teachers can still be dorks. First hour teacher. He made us recite what he makes the kids recite EVERY DAY. It was something about integrity, blah, blah, blah and ended with "I will have a great day!" When I was in 9th grade this would not have MADE me have a great day and it certainly does not work now.

It came home to me though that my sons are horrible story tellers. I had not heard that the first hour teacher was so retentive or that the English teacher was an Amazon, or that the coach has a port wine stain on his face the size of a coaster. I know that when I was in school I would have come home and described these things to my mother, not to make fun, but so that my mother would have a "picture" of my day at school.

The Open House was good though since we did discover the son had a 50 term literary paper due the next day. The teacher gave them plenty of time (1 week) to get it done. She explained that she had really griped at them that day and over 50% had not even started and planned to do it that night of Open House. So, I texted my son. And, much to my dismay he was in the 50% who had not started until last night. He tried to go down the "she didn't give us much time!" but I had been to Open House and could not be fooled!