Minivan Moments

Where we live, there are no mandated driving classes or schools for teens to learn how to drive. We parents have to commit to teaching them - and sign an affidavit stating that we have given our teens a certain number of daylight and nighttime driving experience. There is a minimum six months of driver training period for this instruction, and teens then take a behind-the-wheel driving test with a trained examiner. ( This person is very brave. ) Growing up in Northern Virginia, we had classroom instruction on the Do 's and Don't 's of driving during our sophomore year of high school, complete with rule book and videos. Then we took a behind-the-wheel course with licensed instructors. After we passed both, we were permitted to take the driver's test, which we also still needed to pass in order to be granted a driver's license. Things are sure different here in Tennessee, and it explains a lot of the driving issues and traffic incidents we see regularly around her...

I'm going to be a grandma! I love babies, and toddlers, and children, and even teenagers most of the time. 😆 I've spent my whole life surrounded by children! My nickname is the Baby Whisperer! I mean, this is going to be awesome! What an exciting time for us, filled with hopes and dreams and baby things! Tiny shoes for tiny feet.  Tiny mittens for tiny hands.  Tiny diapers for tiny bottoms. Tiny clothes for tiny humans. Tiny everything ! I started thinking right away of how to rearrange my home to MAKE WAY FOR GRANDKIDS! What contraptions would I buy so that everything doesn't have to be lugged over when they visit? I began checking all the local resale sites for the big ticket items I knew we would need. I even started buying $10 Target giftcards here and there so that I would have money saved up to spoil the baby when it arrives.  👶👶👶👶👶👶👶 Then we discovered something was wrong with baby. That was a hard day. Watching my daughter dea...