Skip to main content

Put Down Your Smartphone and No One Has to Get Hurt

Dear Driver,

Hello! I hope you have enjoyed the introduction of spring weather thus far and i pray this letter finds you well.

This afternoon, my children and i were coming home in the early stages of rush-hour traffic. We had the advantage of being able to drive in the HOV lane, though, which was super awesome as i had a stomach ache to beat all and needed to hurry home. The problem is, while we were over in that lane, my son, who was in the passenger's seat, looked over and saw you staring at your smartphone. While driving.

Then he saw YOU doing it, too.
And then YOU.

I argued that maybe you were placing a call, but when we leapfrogged back and forth a couple of times, it became obvious to both of us that not one of you was placing a call. Or putting down your smartphones. Two of you were casually perusing your smartphones while paying partial attention to the traffic ahead of you and probably no attention to the traffic all around you.

According to my son, it looked like you were on Pinterest or Facebook.

Look, folks, i know there's some FAB-u-lous recipes for the perfect, 30-minutes-or-less, weeknight dinner on Pinterest and you're on your way home to a house full of Ravenous Rugrats, and there are trending stories on Facebook that you've just got to catch up on, but not one of those things is worth the inconvenience of a car accident, the increased premium on your insurance, or (dare i say it..?) - SOMEONE'S LIFE.

My oldest daughter is 15 and studying to take her driver's test to obtain her permit. She saw you, too. Are you setting the best example for her or other teens? Because they.are.watching. Always.

My youngest child is 8 and she is happily playing with her flipflops in the backseat, chitchatting about her gymnastics class yesterday and the skills she is obtaining from her favorite teacher. Are you prepared to be the one to take away her ability to continue with her love of gymnastics because you cause an automobile accident that damages her precious little body with your careless disregard for both safety and the law? Because some accidents are preventable. And some wounds don't heal.

In our house, i practice what i preach. I mean what i say. I ask for forgiveness when i mess up. And i try to do what's right. Because these kids are tomorrow's leaders. 
Did you catch that? KIDS are tomorrow's LEADERS. 
And unless we show them how to fight against the temptation to break the rules, they will take the easy way out. 

Just like you did today, Driver. You took the reckless, selfish route today when you made your smartphone more important than your driving - and everyone else's safety. [Here's a thought: carpool if you must use your phone on your commute.]

Concerned,

AngieV
Mother of 3 in Middle Tennessee


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Health Care in the USA

Well, it is time for another political rant, so depending on your standing, you may want to mosey along.... Health care in the United States is apparently in need of an overhaul.  There are few who disagree.  However, the method of that overhaul is in question.  Many would like to use their power in government to take over health care.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, they are calling it a reform , but it is really just a takeover . So, okay, let's evaluate. Your company, which you have worked for your entire life, is losing money.  It is still afloat, but it isn't doing as well as it could.  You have a couple of choices as a member of the voting board of directors : you could vote in favor of a reevaluation of what is working and what isn't, what rules are already in place that aren't being followed that would benefit your bottom line, and what people in your company are beneficial and what people are detrimental, then you could weed out things and people who aren...

How Has Homeschooling Affected My Life?

Well, homeschooling IS my life, so suffice it to say, there's no stone unturned!  Massive takeover, at times, a bit hostile!! For example, my second child was getting ready to embark on Mother's Day Out and my first child was conveniently ensconced in a Government-run "educational" facility, and I had a glimmer of real freedom... for about a day.  Then I found out I was preggo with Baby #3.  Commence Meltdown. I have since gotten over that traumatic , er, beautiful time, and we have embraced homeschooling.  The freedom never came, the oldest got pulled from Uncle Sam's Brainwashing Academy, and the second offspring never entered a public school.  The third will not go away to preschool. They go with me to the doctor.  This, they do not love.  Neither do I. ( Mommy, why is she putting that there?? ) Alas, it is our lot in life... at least until the eldest is of babysitting age. They go with me to the grocery store.  This, they love occasion...

The Children Unite!

My children all got together last night while I was sleeping and decided to up the ante. They agreed to sabotage all of my good intentions with back-talk, whining, defiance, and drama. And that was just for breakfast. My day started with my husband grouching at me about something that doesn't affect him, followed by the Mommy Sweater attaching herself to me over my morning coffee and clinging for dear life. Not to be outdone, The Boy decided to refuse to do his math. That's it. He just wasn't gonna do it. So there. (yeah, he did his math) As if that wasn't enough to turn Super Mom into a blubbering idiot, The Princess, aka The Eldest Child, spent a laborious hour writing sentences for her spelling words, because " it's too ha-a-a-a-ard " to write a sentence using words like "kitchen" and "throw." Uh-huh. Sure. Well, more whining continued throughout the day, interspersed with moments of blatant defiance and dramatic flair over...