Singing on the road

Last week was the first official week that my teen started hir first job. It is a summer job, but it’s still a real, official job all the same. The job is located a ways past Blue River, Oregon, but we call the trip out there driving out to Blue River because it’s like only one other city we have to drive into before we get to the official job site. (I’m not really sure on the name. LOL I know, that’s stupid. I know we go into a town called “Rainbow” but then when we get to hir place of employment, the address identifies the city by a different name!) But we use Blue River as the mark for our trip. Trevor starts eating breakfast after we pull into Blue River, so that’s how it is for us with this trip. Blue River is the city we keep an eye out for.


Oh, and it’s over an hour away! Actually, it’s like an hour and fifteen minutes away. We drive through several cities to get there. And we drive up on a mountain. It is a VERY scenic route! I have to take a freeway and a very long highway to get there! I spent some time last week taking pictures while driving to and from there and sharing them on Facebook.


We have to leave for the trip at 5:30 in the morning so that Trevor can get to work on time. Because of this, I had to create a new weekly schedule. The new schedule calls for me getting up at 4 a.m. Monday through Friday. Trevor gets up at 4:30 to get ready for work and the trip.


So, yeah, both of us are pretty tired on the trip. I have a cup of coffee before I leave and fill my travel mug with more coffee. (Trevor drinks hot chocolate.) Trevor sometimes sleeps on the way to hir job. I, on the other hand, cannot sleep. I have to stay awake for the drive there AND the drive home. Even so, I have still been tired and sleepy while doing all of that driving. That COULD be a problem.


I have been trying different things to stay awake for the trip: Rolling down my window, not wearing my jacket (it gets COLD out there!), counting in Spanish (my Spanish is a little rusty so this can be a challenge), slapping my face, blinking rapidly, shaking my head and even driving fast. None of those things were very effective and I didn’t feel too good about that last one. It’s dangerous to drive fast on that highway! There are lots of twists and turns. I don’t want to go flying off the mountain!


Then I tried something else. I remember how, during the many times we were on the road when I was a kid, my siblings and I would sing to pass the time. As I got older and my deafness became more profound (and THEN I couldn’t wear a hearing aid anymore), I started to grow away from my love for music and singing. I stopped singing so often. Sometimes I sang lullabies to my kids, and sometimes when I couldn’t sleep I would lie in bed and silently sing, but that is about it.


So I gave this a try – but I didn’t actually sing at first. What I did first was just play songs in my head. That didn’t work out very well. Then I silently sang songs to myself. That worked better!


Then one day, on the way out there, my son noticed my silent singing. (My son rides with me on the trip to pick Trevor up from work.) He asked what I was doing and I explained to him that I was silently singing songs to myself because it helps me to stay awake. He said I wasn’t singing, I was just mouthing the words. I told him it was LIKE singing for me, because the song was playing in my head and I sang along with it. Then I joked that he really wouldn’t want to hear me actually sing because my voice probably sounds terrible. (I don’t really know how my voice sounds. I can’t hear it! I used to sing at school in chorus and also in Sunday School but I haven’t used my voice for singing for a very long time.)


But I was thinking about what he said. Later, I asked Trevor about it. Was it so terrible to mouth the words to a song?? Trevor told me there’s nothing wrong with it and people do it all the time.


This actually made me feel better. And, hey, I always felt happy when I was silently singing along to a song. I LOVE singing so much. In fact, I used to want to be a singer. My sister, Elizabeth, and I wanted to start our own band when we were teenagers! It just makes me feel good and I enjoy singing.


But I thought even more about it. And, later, I felt brave enough to actually sing in the van as I drove home one day. I had my window down, sure, but I didn’t care if anybody heard me! I was gonna sing!


This has actually worked even better in keeping me awake for these long drives.


But in the afternoons, when I’m driving there and back to pick Trevor up, I’m not brave enough to sing in front of my kids. I have not gotten to that point yet. And anyway, maybe it’s better that I don’t. I sing old songs. Not new songs, though my kids have TRIED to introduce me to them, but old songs. Songs I grew up hearing and singing. Songs I know the words and music to.


Songs I knew before I became deaf.


In a way, singing these songs, and playing them in my head, has helped me to remember them. I can’t listen to them anymore, so I have to rely on my memory on what kind of tune a song had, what kind of music it had, and what the lyrics were. Sometimes I have to go back to read the lyrics to help me remember a song again, but if I can’t remember the music for it, it’s very hard to remember the song itself if I only know the lyrics. I have to know the WHOLE sing. Remember all of it.


That said, these are the songs I sing on the road or that I’ll be mouthing or have playing in my head that I remember the words and music to:


“Heaven” by Bryan Adams

“Sister Christian” by Night Ranger

“It’s a Long Road” by Dan Hill

“Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor

“The Search is Over” by Survivor

“What About Love?” by Heart

“These Dreams” by Heart

“Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival

“Jack and Diane” John Cougar Mellencamp

“Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chilli Peppers

“Soul to Squeeze” by RHCP

“Can’t Fight This Feeling” by REO Speedwagon

“In My Dreams” by REO Speedwagon

“All Through the Night” by Cyndi Lauper

“Time After Time” by Cyndi Lauper

“Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler

"Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship

"We Built This City" by Starship

"Sara" by Starship

"Beat It" by Michael Jackson

"Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson

"Thriller" by Michael Jackson

“Inside” by Ronnie Milsap

“Any Day Now” by Ronnie Milsap

“In the Still of the Night” by Ronnie Milsap

“It Was Almost Like a Song” by Ronnie Milsap

“I Love Rock N Roll” by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts


These are the songs I’d sing or have playing in my head IF I remembered the words and music (some I know from when I had a hearing aid):


“Unforgiven” by Metallica

“Sad But True” by Metallica

“Enter Sandman” by Metallica

“St. Elmo’s Fire” by John Parr

"Come As You Are" by Nirvana

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana

"Lithium" by Nirvana

"We Will Rock You" by Queen

"Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen

"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen

"Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen

"Glory Days" by Bruce Springsteen

"Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister

“We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel

“Never Surrender” by Corey Hart

“Take On Me” by A-Ha

“Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

“Queen of Hearts” by Juice Newton


It may be unusual for a deaf person to be singing, but I wasn’t born deaf. I have a voice and I did hear songs before I lost my hearing (I became deaf from meningitis). And, well, I’m an unusual kind of person. I don’t fit into any mold. So maybe it’s not so terrible for a deaf person to be singing. Used to be I got to a point where I shunned music and everything associated with it because “I’m deaf” and it’s not part of my world. But it’s a part of my past. It’s the person I used to be. And I have realized that it’s okay to let this person who sang and loves music out of her shell every once in a while. Even if I get criticism from the Deaf community for using my voice and not signing and indulging in something that “you need to be able to hear” to be a part of. Well, I’m doing this in my own way. And if the Deaf community hates on me for that, screw ‘em! I am used to having haters. Haters ain’t gonna stop me from doing what I have to do in life and what I WANT to do in life. Haters gonna hate! Let them hate. I don’t care. 


And, hey, if this is something that helps me to stay awake while I’m driving on a long road, it works for me. And I’ll do it.

The test day and test drive

This summer is going to be a little bit different for us this year. My oldest has hir first job! It is a summer job, but it is still hir FIRST REAL JOB! Yay!

We are all really excited and happy for Trevor. And I am proud of Trev, too. This is an awesome thing to happen and I hope this will be a good experience for hir.

But one thing we learned about this first job is that it is actually not all that close to us. It’s actually in another city. It’s in Blue River – and that’s about an hourish away.

And because Trev needs to be there at a certain time Monday through Friday, we have been spending weeks deciding on a new schedule as well as planning out the route. I had some trouble figuring out the new schedule. I knew certain things had to happen at certain times, but couldn’t figure out the times for the other things.

Yesterday was the “test day” for the new schedule. And, since some things were not accounted for in my NOTES for this new schedule, I filled in the blanks as I went about the day. I went through the day as though I was on this new schedule – got up at 4:30, got Trev up at 5, was “away” from computer and unable to text on my phone at the times I’d be driving and not home, and leaving at certain times that I’d need to for certain things. Jesse got up earlier than I expected – and when I would not have been at home – so I reminded him that next week, we’ll be on a new schedule and sometimes when he wakes up in the morning, I might not be here. I explained to him if that happens, it means I’ll be either taking Trevor to work or on my way home. It was a good opportunity for us to go over this sort of scenario, so he knows what to expect. I made a mental note to leave a note on the table for him just in case he forgets. There is a 2-hour window of time set aside for “Jesse’s sports” (since he’ll be busy with gymnastics and swimming this summer at those times), but that day he was feeling too sick for it. No problem! I spent this time with him camped out on the couch, watching TV with him. I went through the rest of the day figuring out when other things will happen and, voila! I had my schedule all figured out.

Now we had the test drive to do. It was slated for this weekend. I was going to go by myself but my husband didn’t like that idea. So we all ended up going on the test drive! Good thing all of us went, too. Because we ended up being gone for 5 hours! The problem was, we got lost and, on top of that, could not get a signal, so we couldn’t use Google Maps. (And, no, we hadn’t printed out the mapped route before leaving. I guess we should have!) So at one point, my husband turned around and started driving back the other way to try and find a cell tower. But it was a very long drive. So, instead, he stopped at a store and asked for directions. He got the directions and we were on our way! On the way there, I saw that a city was named “Nimrod.” That made me laugh. Wow, that would be an interesting conversation!

“Where are ya from?”

“Nimrod.”

“What did you call me?”

Well, we did FINALLY get to Trevor’s work. It was closed but we got a good look at the place. I was glad it had a huge sign out front. It would be hard to miss!

We never did get a signal for our phones. And when we DID finally get somewhere where we could get a signal – when we were closer back to Eugene – my phone had died. So had the tablet (which has Twitter on there).  I made a mental note about this.

So I timed the drive back and it’s actually an hour and 15 minutes long. On our way back, we stopped for dinner at IHOP (it was almost 10 at this point!). At dinner, I talked with Trev about the length of the route and we decided to calculate an hour and a half drive instead. That would mean we would have to go to bed earlier because we’d have to get up earlier! I was also concerned about there being no signal there. Actually, we both were a little nervous. Trev assured me that they could call someone in the event of an emergency and ze let me know who were on hir emergency contacts list. That set me at ease but I’d want them to call my voicemail, too, and leave a message.

The drive to Trev’s job is a long one but, really, it’s easy to get there and back. Yes, I have to take two highways, but it’s an easy route. Not a lot of turns or anything like that. I am glad for that!

I’ll be driving Trev there to the job in the mornings, but Jesse comes along when I pick Trev up in the afternoon. Since he complained about being hungry on the trip, I made a mental note to pack snacks as well as bottled water. I’d also bring along his blanket and some books to make him more comfortable and entertained.

Another issue, though, is gas. I am hoping we can figure that out.

I am glad we were able to test out the new schedule and the drive to Trev’s place of employment. I may do one more test drive just to make sure I have the route down pat.

I do enjoy driving long distances, but wow! This one is pretty long. The route is also VERY scenic: We saw trees, mountains, forests, rivers and lakes. It was just BEAUTIFUL! I am glad to be driving this route because I love seeing all of that stuff!

And I’m looking forward to greeting the sun from the road, too. I’ll just have to be sure to have some extra coffee with me.

Texting while shopping

During the weekday mornings, I turn on the local news and leave it on that channel for Good Morning, America. This morning, as I was getting ready to leave to take Jesse to school, we happened to notice a “special report” on GMA about a rise in deaths or accidents among people who were texting and walking at the same time. It reminded me of this news story I read some time ago about a man who fell to his death because he was texting and walking and he walked right off of a mountain. Jesse and I watched the videos of several people who had accidents – they walked into walls, into traffic and even into a fountain – because they were texting and walking. I told Jesse this was why I never texted and walked at the same time. Of course, there was one time it was an emergency and I sort of had to text while walking/running but fortunately I made it out of that ok. But I usually never do it. Jesse agreed that it was a bad idea, especially after seeing the video. Later, I asked Jennifer if she does that, and she said sometimes but she’s able to watch where she’s going while texting.

Well, later today – this evening, actually – I got a good dose of just how much of a bad idea it was to text and walk, because I ended up texting while shopping!

After I got home from taking Jesse to gymnastics class, I was looking forward to getting dinner going, taking care of a couple of chores I had NOT gotten around to YET and being home for the day. But that didn’t happen! Right after I got home, Jennifer informed me that someone at her school had taken her fabric ribbon that she needed for a school project – and that project was due tomorrow! So of course she needed me to drive her to the craft store to get more fabric ribbon.

On any other occasion and if it was earlier in the day, I would have been happy to take her to the craft store. We go to Ben Franklin Crafts and it’s a pretty awesome craft store. But tonight, I was tired, had things to do and was NOT looking forward to more driving – especially to a store quite a distance from us. But, I was the only one to do it. It was up to me!

First, however, I texted my friend and asked her if she had any ribbon that Jen could use. She did, but not cloth ribbon. Which was what we needed. And instead of the conversation ending there, it actually continued on for a while! Not while I was driving, of course. No way would I ever text and drive! And while I was driving there, I was thinking, ‘I’m so glad I put gas in the van today!’ As well, as that old standby: ‘Why can’t there be two of me?’ 

After we arrived at the craft store, I resumed texting with my friend while the kids A: Got the ribbon and B: Checked out other craft projects in the store. (It’s a cool store!!)

But at one point, I got so caught up with texting, I finally looked up and noticed the kids WAITING for me to pay for the ribbon and the cashier trying not to laugh as she stared at me.

I was a 41-year-old woman doing what teenagers typically do: Text on my phone with one of my besties when I should be paying attention to my surroundings. I was texting while shopping! Oh nos!

I took care of that bidness. Then I was texting my friend again on the way out of the store and to the van. And after we got home, too. (It was a good conversation!)

I think it was silly I was texting while shopping because obvi I got distracted by it. Usually, if I text while I shop, it’s to ask about a brand or if we need something while I’m there at the store. Or it’s the kids asking me to get something for them! But usually not when it comes to checking out. I’m a little embarrassed that happened but it was funny too. At least nobody got hurt. And at least it’s not as bad as texting while driving!

New wheels

A few days before Christmas, we had 2 bad things happen. We were hit with a financial crisis that meant we had no money to buy the kids anymore Christmas gifts aside from the one already bought. The second thing that happened? My car died! (Yeah, I know. I have bad luck. Sometimes I think I am jinxed!)

When my car died, I had only one thought: Thank goodness the kids only had one day left of school. My husband took them to school the next day (I usually do it because he works at night) but I thought I would be getting a new vehicle soon.

Well, soon turned into 2 weeks. They were VERY hard weeks to get through! It got to a point where I told my husband I was gonna turn violent if I didn’t get out of the house, so he drove me to the library and dropped me off there, where I spent a couple of hours writing and reading/researching. But I later needed to get out again and it just went all wrong.

And the problem is, my kids were missing out on their lessons. My oldest has violin lessons. Her violin teacher started driving out to our house since I had no way to get to hers. And Jesse takes gymnastics classes, but he missed out on a couple because I couldn’t drive him there. (His classes are in the early evening.) It was so hard for him to NOT go to gymnastics, because he loves it so much. But, thankfully, I have arranged for him to take make-up classes.

And Jennifer will be going to her violin lessons again because, as of today, I finally have a new car! Woo-hoo!

It’s not a brand new car. It’s used. We actually got it from my husband’s co-worker. And, it’s a minivan! I have never driven a minivan before and today was the first time I ever drove one. Of course I was scared but I did it anyway. I HAD to see if I could do it. And I can! (So cool to stand up to what scares us and just DOING it anyway! Seriously, I surprised myself.) Driving the minivan is AWESOME! I love my minivan. It’s kinda like driving a small bus. I think that since my last car was a long car (a sedan), it gave me good practice in being able to maneuver a minivan. However, this time, I am NOT going to put myself into a situation where I have to drive forward-backward-forward-backward a bazillion times a la Austin Powers in order to get out of a parking space. I am starting to keep an eye out for parking spaces where I can easily pull the vehicle out of its spot or, even better, away from a curb. This change in parking has also changed how I drop Jesse off at school. Before, I would park in the row of spaces with all the other cars by the walkway that was meant for children to safely walk to the school. But now I’ll park in another area closer to the front of his school and he can get out on the side where there are bushes, not cars driving past, then go to the walkway where there is a crossing guard. So, it’s all good!

I still need to get used to driving this kind of vehicle but so far, so good. I am really thrilled to be driving again and having the freedom to come and go whenever for whatever. (Gotta have my freedom!!) I also like how it’s so roomy and comfortable. And the heater works a lot better, too. The steering in my last car was messed up because of that accident when I slid on the ice so it’s also nice to not have to deal with steering problems in this car. I just need to drive more carefully and watch out for icy roads!

And the best part is that THIS vehicle is travel-worthy. I want us to take a family vacation this year and now we can with this vehicle. It runs great and there are no engine problems so I look forward to traveling in it on the road someday soon. Very soon, I hope!

It was hard to wait for a new vehicle but it was definitely worth the wait. I’m thrilled with my new car (which I have not named yet but I’m considering the name Chloe) and I look forward to being able to get to where I need to go again!

Inclemental weather

Yesterday, I was given a pleasant reminder that Winter has arrived here in Eugene. No, it wasn’t the weather app on my phone telling me it was snowing (even though it wasn’t snowing in my neck of the woods). It was my car sliding on an icy road. I couldn’t tell if the road was icy and I didn’t even think that it might be icy because I had just driven on that road an hour earlier and nothing went wrong. Well, that time around, something went wrong, and my car went flying.

Fortunately, my daughter and I were not hurt when the car bumped up against a sidewalk and stopped sliding (though I did wake up with some back pain at 2:30 in the morning), but it was enough to knock the steering in my car out of whack. It was so frightening, though, that I was no longer focused on getting my daughter to school on time. At that point, I just wanted to get her to school in one piece! I had to make safety our priority and slow down as I drove her the rest of the way to school. (I had to put safety first again after I dropped her off at school: I was planning to run a few errands but the steering in my car was off so I decided it was not safe to drive it around until it, and the wheel, was looked at first. It was pretty tense driving it home!)

Later that day, as I was watching the news (which I had also watched in the morning), I was surprised to see that there had been some crashes and car accidents here in Oregon due to cars sliding on icy roads. One accident was really bad: The front of the car was crushed in! Yikes! Another accident involved multiple vehicles. There is snow in some parts of Oregon but these accidents didn’t happen where there was snow, but plenty of ice! And even after city workers de-iced and poured sand on the streets, accidents were still happening!

It’s definitely that time of the year where we all need to be a little more careful when driving on the road. We gotta slow down and give each other enough space between cars for stopping at lights and stop signs. And even if it is not freezing cold outside or there is no visible ice anywhere, I have been advised that it's best to drive with the assumption that there is ice on the road.

Getting my kids to school on time is definitely important to me, but safety must ALWAYS come first. I tell the kids: “Safety first.” No matter what it takes or the cost, always put your own safety first. Even if it means they’ll be late for school or something. It’s like that quote in the movie Lucy: “I’d rather be late than dead.”

So. My kids might end up getting to school a little late during the winter. I’ll try to get them out the door earlier than usual, but there’s no way I’m gonna be speeding or rushing when I drive them to school. As it is, because of the damage to my car’s steering, I have to drive extra slower until it gets fixed.  I apologized to the kids about this. I told them there might be days that I won’t be able to get them to school on time because of bad driving conditions. (The schools do close if driving conditions get really bad but not if there’s a little ice on the roads.) But I also told them, you know, the school might understand. Heck, they might even expect some students to arrive late because of bad driving conditions. (To be honest, I really don’t like driving when there is snow and ice, but there’s not much I can do about it! Gotta get my kids to school, and all.)

And until my car is fixed, I can’t drive long distances, either. Which sucks, because I LOVE driving and I love driving long distances, too. (Lets me pretend for the duration of the trip that I’m traveling on the road. Ha!) So I had to cancel Jen’s violin lesson this week (it takes a half hour to drive out there) and I also had to reschedule Jesse’s doctor appointment that is later in the week. I am hoping my car will be fixed next week and I can go back to “jumping in and out of the car” to drive the kids to school and run errands or whatever.

Back to jumping in and out of my car!

On Friday, I happened to notice that the tags on my car expired the next day. I would’ve gone out to the DMV then and there to renew my tags, except that they were renovating the Eugene office and it was closed. I just didn’t have the time to go to the one in Springfield. So I was without a car over the weekend. On Monday, in late afternoon (as waiting at the DMV for HOURS usually goes), I had new tags on my car again. Yay! I could drive again!

And I was driving around last night to take care of a few things I couldn’t get done over the weekend. It felt GREAT to be driving again! (As much as I complain about having to constantly jump in and out of my car for some errand or another, I DO love to drive!)

But this morning, I was really starting to wonder if driving again was actually a good thing.

I had remarked on Facebook about how it was nice that I won’t have to deal with idiot drivers at the school parking lots for one day out of the week (yesterday). Well, as it happens, the first day I’m driving the kids to school again, I had to deal with one of them!

When I got to Jesse’s school this morning, I was in the parking lot behind another driver, who was giving someone room to pull out of their spot. I turned just to see a driver backing out of their spot – and almost right into my car!! I screamed and honked the horn at the same time. Thank God they stopped – if not, they would’ve hit the side of the car my son was sitting on!

The whole event was terrifying but, poor Jesse, he was scared to death. He sat there with his eyes and mouth open wide. We definitely gave each other a bigger hug than usual before he got out of the car and went into school!

Well, despite THAT incident, I kept driving today. I had more errands to run!

By the time it was dark and I thought I was in for the day, and just as I was about to relax for the night, I remembered that I promised I’d do something for Jennifer today. Hadn’t done it YET! I was tired from running around and it was already dark, but I decided to do this anyway. I told her I would do it, so I was going to do it! (Get a piece of her art she wants to enter in a contest scanned. A scanner is at the top of my Christmas list!) So I told her to help out with her brother, as her dad was in the bedroom sick, and I’d return shortly with her scan.

When I got to Office Depot, however, I noticed a big sign on the building: “Moving Sale.” Hmm, I thought, they’re moving? I hurried through the sprinkling of rain with Jen’s picture against my chest (didn’t want to get it wet!) and went inside to find a store stripped of practically almost everything. Wow, what a sight to see.

I also happened to notice the sign saying some Office Depot services were unavailable due to the pending move. I asked about the move and picked up a flyer with the new store location on it. And, unfortunately, scanning was not available because of the disassembling of equipment. (They are moving in 11 days!) I happened to notice a lot of stuff marked down and nodded in understanding. It was less stuff they’d have to pack if they could get rid of it! One of the items marked down was 500-sheet packages of paper. It was only $1.09!! Cool! I grabbed a couple (one for each of my kids) and paid for them. As I walked back out to the car, the drizzle was starting to turn into serious rain business. I clutched Jen’s art against my chest again and looked for my car.

Wow. I had the foresight to park all the way at the end of the parking lot!

I rolled my eyes and grumbled to myself Brilliant! as I hurried to my car. After I got in the car, I pondered what to do next in getting Jen’s picture scanned. I could go to the Kinko’s/Fed Ex store, but the last time I went there to get something scanned, the technician did a poor job because the scanned picture had the black bar faintly showing in the background. I really didn’t feel like driving downtown for a botched scan job! I would think of something.

I didn’t get Jen’s picture scanned, but at least I scored a sweet deal on paper. Nice way to end the day!


UPDATE:

The day after I posted this, I arrived at Jesse's school parking lot to find more school staff out there monitoring traffic (including the principal!) and more traffic cones set out. I felt A LOT safer driving through the parking lot because of these efforts! And it continued for the rest of the week, too. I am so relieved. It is a lot better now to get through all the traffic in dropping off and picking up of my son at the school. Also, on Thursday, Jesse forgot his jacket when school let out so we went back to the school and I instructed him to go through the special walking area they have set up on the parking lot that is just for people and it was safer for him to go this route to get to the school building from the parking lot. I just don't feel safe having him walk by himself through the parking lot when there are all these cars around. Well, he did this both ways and it was a lot safer for him. So from now on, I am going to try to park next to one of these two walking spaces and he can SAFELY walk to the school building without the danger of being hit by a car. I just hope drivers will remember to look behind them AND check their mirrors before pulling out of their parking spaces so they don't hit anyone behind them.

Wait, this ain't California?

Lately, Jennifer has started to take an interest in driving. I have answered her questions about cars and driving where possible and even let her try shifting gears on my car a time or two. However, I have yet to break the news to her that it will be some time until she can actually start learning how to drive.

As I drove her to school this morning (she ended up missing the bus because we had a "shoe crisis"), I started to wonder how old she had to be in order to legally drive with a learner's permit. In California, you can have a learner's permit when you are 15 years old (though I don't know if they've changed that since we left).

As I started to ponder this next dilemma, a scene from the movie Elizabethtown came to mind. It's the scene where Orlando Bloom's character, Drew, is trying to make a case to have his father cremated. At one point, he gets all huffy and says, "And that's the word from California!" What had me break out into hysterics was what came next in that scene. Where he realizes his mistake and says, "Sh*t. OREGON." Everybody laughs and he laughingly adds, "You know, we really are from Oregon."

I was laughing so hard over this because it so applies to us. Sometimes, it's like I forget we are in OREGON, not California, so California laws no longer apply here. It's the Oregon laws we have to think about.

So, I checked this out later in the day, and, yes, she can get a learner's permit when she is 15 years old.

And that's the word from Oregon!

The parking lot wars

The more I have to face that chaotic parking lot every time Jennifer gets out iof school, the more I am trying to figure out my best strategy to make picking her up a little less stressful.

It's not just the HUNDREDS of cars I have to contend with when picking her up (I pick her up at the front of her school), it's also the parking. Mainly, if I park my car and wait for her to come outside, there's a VERY good chance I'll get trapped. In the school parking lot, people throw parking laws right out the window. They park EVERYWHERE; behind parked cars, at odd angles alongside curbs, they double-park and even turn a section of the lot into a two-way thruway going only ONE way!

It's ridiculous.

At first I thought, 'Well, if I leave early, I can get a good spot where I WON'T get trapped, pull out when she comes outside and pick her up.' This turned out to be a bad idea, because apparently, it's the same exact thing EVERYBODY ELSE was thinking! All of the other parents try to get there early. (I can't tell you the many times I got stuck trying this. At one point, a guy had to help me maneuver my way out of a parking space where I was snagged between cars!)

So next I tried getting there just a TEENSY bit later. Say, 2-3 minutes later. That worked for a while, but today I figured I should move that to 4-5 minutes after school is let out.

Today I got there a little later after school was out. Jennifer's class was not outside yet, so I tried looping around the parking lot to come back around again. Bad idea. I made a turn into the middle of the lot and, after I saw what lay ahead of me, I released a deep groan. "Ohhh, nooo." I. Was. Trapped. I hadn't seen it, but at the end of that part of the lot, a semicircle of cars were parked, blocking my exit. Thankfully, the last driver was in his car, AND his child walked up to the car asking him how he planned to get out since I was RIGHT THERE, blocking HIS way out of that mess. He motioned that he'd just back up and move around the car in front of him. I was relieved; at least he wasn't angry at me for "blocking" his way out (even though NORMAL driving rules allow me a lane in THIS particular area of the parking lot!) and at least there was a way for BOTH of us to get out of there.

Next week, I'm going to try getting to the school 5 minutes AFTER release so I can just drive my way through the parking lot without having to stop and get trapped. (If you park anywhere, you WILL get trapped!) If that doesn't work, I'll just park on the street and walk up to the school and pick her up in person. This is something a few parents have been doing, and I'm starting to wonder if they do this to avoid the madness of the school parking lot.

Well, I just hope I figure SOMETHING out. Maybe next year, I'll just have Jen take the bus.