Crossing that Bridge

I thought today might be a nice day to tackle all of those back-to-school forms– you know, just get them out of the way first thing in the morning so that I can move on with my day. That was at 8 a.m. this morning. I’m still not done.

Grant it, I did take a break to run kids to practice, eat breakfast, make lunch… and then more forms arrived in the mail while I was in process. And I am still not done.

Loose ends. Checks to write.

And my son is taking his driver’s license test this week… I was dreading that. But over the last few months, when we ran out of milk at 9 p.m., or trash stickers on Sunday night, I began to think, “wouldn’t it be nice if I could just send him out to the store to get them?!”
So, yes… the driver’s license will be a good thing.

And yes, again, as I woke at the crack of dawn to driveÂ him to the river for crew practice. Until… until, a friend texted him to ask for a ride to the river.

Now this opens up a whole new can of worms… — friends who need rides.

“The car is just for you to drive YOURSELF to practice, OK?”Then the questions started to hit me.
What about after school when someone needs a ride to the river?
“No.”
What about after school — when a kid on our block needs a ride?
“No.”
What about at lunch when everyone is piling into cars and going somewhere….
“NO!!!!”

I know how ridiculous that sounds… how can he NOT take a few friends — or take a ride with a few friends? But — maybe in 10 years… not now. My expectations are unrealistic… but normal. They’re just kids, you know. Together, my husband and I need to establish some ground rules that are solid… unbreakable by any teen logic.

I know other parents have crossed this bridge before me, and that doesn’t help me one teensy bit. Really, it doesn’t. They will just say something pat, like “You just have to cut the strings and let them go.”