I did something today that I haven't done since my beautiful daughter Chelsea was sixteen. Her sixteenth birthday was one of the happiest days of my life ... because I didn't have to drive her school anymore. She could take herself and I could do whatever I wanted too. This came on the heels of me driving her brother Jeremy to school then her sister Kristen to school and finally Chelsea.
Collectively it seemed like three decades of carpooling.
And let me be the first to say ...carpooling sucks!
For adults carpooling, it may be environmentally friendly but if you're packing your car full of kids like sardines in a can who all want control of MY RADIO, it can be ... well ...
PLUS, I was the cool Dad in touch with his feminine side, who listened to music loud, played air guitar while driving and would get the entire mob of unruly kids in my back seat to head bang in unison like like that scene from "Wayne's World" when the fast part of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" comes on. I must say that we looked good driving up to St. Vincent's Academy everyday doing this. Sister Pat was a big fan!
But when Chelsea got her driver's license I gladly got her a car, gave her the keys, climbed into my car and drove around listening to whatever I wanted to on MY RADIO.
{ I should add that I did an impeccable job introducing my children to music. All three have excellent musical taste and listen to things I enjoy. Two of the three and I regularly exchange music with one another. Kristen loves Tom Petty and ... that's pretty much it! Jeremy and Chelsea are much more expansive.]
So for the past eight years, my mornings have been mine! Carpooling was a horror story from the past. To this day, if one of my children try to get in my car I have anxiety attacks. I try to prearrange meeting places with them or make them come to my house ... after hiding the keys to my car.
But this morning I was asked to take three little girls to school ... not one but TWO schools!
You know what though?
It was fun.
I was reminded of all of the good times that I had with Jeremy, Kristen, Chelsea and their friends. As I make my way around Savannah or on the island, my children's friends greet me warmly and sometimes we tell stories of things that we did carpooling.
To celebrate this morning and my return to carpool experience, we all went to McDonalds for breakfast. Let me begin by saying I HATE MCDONALD'S! Ronald should be maimed then stuffed with two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese and stuck on a sesame seed bun! Then set on fire! Then he can have a Happy Meal with himself!
But today we had a good time.
Until O Johnny showed up which terrified the three little girls I was with. So we left.
"Who was that strange man?" they asked through tears once back in the safety of the car.
"Don't worry girls," I calmly explained. He is a government employee working for Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta. You know ... people you can trust."
Then I slowed down to 35 miles an hour so the girls could jump out and be at school on time.
For the preschooler, I actually had to stop and get out and break into a door so she could join her hoodlum friends.
Then I got back in my car, turned the radio to my station, put the top down and cruised back home with the confident knowledge that ... if push comes to shove ... I can still carpool.
