Parenting… Sometimes you’ve gotta let the little birdies fly. I just wish I could wrap them in bubblewrap when they do.

Queen of the Lolligaggers

My boys were hired by a friend of mine to work security at various events until they find a full-time job or enroll in school. This morning was their first day on a job. Yay! Boy A had worked a couple summers ago at an ice cream shop but for Boy B, this was his very first day of working a job ever. I was, and still am, nervous for that alone. Grant it, they are 18 years old but in my (mom’s) brain, they are still young and inexperienced.

The jobsite is 30 minutes away from the house and it requires freeway driving almost the entire way. Boy B is the driver but he only just got his license. (Boy A still hasn’t had any driving training. Ugh.) I’ve been so anxious about this that I made Boy B drive me out to the jobsite and back last night using the Waze app so he could get an idea of where he needed to go. <heavy sigh> It didn’t go so well so last night’s sleep was constantly interrupted with worry. This is the boy who’ll still occasionally wear one sock around the house. This is the boy who still wants me to make his PB&Js. This is the boy who, while driving, I’ll say, The light is red. Slow Down The Light Is Red. RED LIGHT STOP STOP STOP!!! And after a coming to a screeching halt, he’d say, Oh, I was looking at the light behind it. Or simply, I didn’t see it. DOH!!! And this did not occur only once or twice, but just about every single time I was in the car with him. EEEK!!! My stomach flutters (in a bad way) just thinking about it.

The moment the boys left the driveway this early a.m., I was on my Life360 app following their path. I couldn’t help myself. I should’ve shut it down because what I saw on the app put me thru a myriad of feelings, none of them good. As I watched their little blue dots on the map pass the turn to get onto the interstate, I started yelling Turn Around! As the dots continued to move further away, the louder my yelling became. (Thankfully I was the only one in the house.) I thought maybe I should call or text them but then I reminded myself I shouldn’t distract them. So instead, I just continued watching the dots hoping they’d change direction soon. And they did. Eventually.

After the dots were finally moving along the interstate, there was a moment when they were suddenly at 0 mph and Boy A’s dot was about a quarter inch away from Boy B’s. My heart stopped. I pictured a horrendous car accident where my boys were smeared across the freeway, car bits and kid bits scattered everywhere! Just as I was about to call my husband, the two dots suddenly appeared about an inch away going 73 mph. Longest two minutes ever! Shame on you Life360 for scaring me like that!

Through the rest of the drive, there were two times they exited off the interstate when they shouldn’t have. The dots would move slowly for a while, then finally circled back and got back on track. What the-? I was so very itchy to contact them, it took all my power not to. Not being able to communicate when I really, really wanted to reminded me of way back when the boys took their first swimming lessons and I had to sit on the bleachers to watch them. I wanted to yell at them to pay attention and listen to the instructor but I couldn’t (at the wise request of the instructors). So, to keep myself from shouting out, I’d sit on those bleachers stuffing gum in my mouth like Ace Ventura when he realized Lois Einhorn was a man. By the end of each lesson, I had a wad of gum the size of a baseball.

With no gum available, I went on my treadmill to try to stroll my nerves away while I watched. I was so wound up, I easily could’ve walked the fast pace of 2 mph instead of my usual 1.3 mph stroll. I was that nervous. But I didn’t want to overdo it. (I had to leave for work a half hour later.) Once they arrived at their jobsite, albeit 15 minutes late, I was so relieved. I felt drained and exhausted and I wanted to cry. How in the heck did my parents endure this with five kids driving?!? Answer: No Life360. So, note to self, no more Life360 while they’re driving. They’ll be driving home this evening and tomorrow they return to the same location. I can’t promise I won’t peek from time to time. But I will certainly try not to peek from time to time. Baby steps.

_{FYI: I have not received any compensation for the product(s), store(s), and/or link(s) mentioned in this blog. This content was written purely from my perspective for informational purposes only.}