Third Time's A Charm

Thanks to a letter from the DMV a few months ago – which I promptly misplaced – I was on the ball this time with getting my driver's license renewed. Or so I thought.

I was glad they sent the letter out because, really, how often do we look at our own driver's license? And when they expire in 8 years, who can keep track of that? So yes, the letter helped. And recent travels out of state where every security checkpoint between here and Mississippi pointed out my birthday (and expiration date) were coming right up.

So I ran over the DMV at lunch on Tuesday (relatively close by). I knew there was some new REAL ID thing that would be required next year – unless you have a passport. So I just brought my license and passport as forms of identification and thought I was on the ball.

Well, the DMV was saying the REAL ID will be much more convenient so if you lose your passport during domestic travel, god forbid, you still have a Homeland Security acceptable ID. He said even now they require it at airports like O'Hare. So I said I'd get that REAL thing instead of my, what, fake DL. Of course, that meant I didn't have proper paperwork. I also needed my legit Social Security card or a W-2 form. So I said I'd be back. Just in case they thought I would procrastinate further, they extended my license expiration date for 60 days. Free of charge.

Got home Tuesday, gathered my paperwork and had it in the car yesterday. But I didn't like my hair, so I decided to wait until today. Still one day before my birthday so I wasn't technically procrastinating.

I went to the DMV in late morning. I decided to travel light and just grab my wallet and not my purse. I don't know why because I never do that. And now I know why...

I get there and all cocky like, I hand over my license and Social Security and a W-2. Then Mr. DMV is like, "OK, I just need your birth certificate or passport then." I look at my useless wallet and realize my stinkin' passport is in my purse... back at the office. Oh fiddlesticks. (Or something like that.) "I'll be back," I said for the second time this week.

A half hour later and on my third trip to the DMV in three days, I had all appropriate documentation, decent hair, and a lengthy but worthwhile wait in the waiting room.

Third time's a charm, I guess. We'll see if I'm any better in 8 years.

Taken Too Soon

As a parent of a teenager, every time you hear of a serious accident involving young drivers, your heart skips a beat. You pray to God your child is not involved. Then thank the Lord when he isn't.

Then, with your heart beating normally again, you wonder who was involved, do we know them and how did it happen?

I had heard a brief news story on Sunday about two 19-year-olds who were driving before 6 a.m., lost control of their pickup truck, rolled it and struck some trees. I'm still not clear who was driving but Dan Weinfurter was ejected from the pickup and Drew Nelson was found in the back seat, according to the sheriff's department. Both were airlifted from that accident scene (south of Rapids) to the hospital in Marshfield. We knew Sunday morning that both were in critical condition because Jim heard if from Dan's aunt and uncle in church.

We know the Weinfurter family well. Jim has bowled often with at least 3 of them over the years. And any time we go to the races, we are sitting with the Weinfurter gang, cheering for their cousins and nephews – unless they are racing against our nephew Colin, of course.

Dan was a racer, too, and just like Colin, a third-generation driver. He had dreams. Dreams that will never be realized.

By Monday morning it was evident he probably wouldn't make it. Officially, he died Tuesday evening, after many of his organs were harvested and sent on to save other lives. Just like Jim's cousin Ben, who I wrote about last week, Dan impacted lives when he was alive and impacted a few more when he died.

It illustrates that something positive can come from a tragedy. But it in no way minimizes the pain of grief and loss that his parents, brother, family and countless friends are experiencing.

I'm praying for comfort for our "racing family" but also praying God can give Drew, the other victim, strength to survive. Having one local boy – and he is a boy, really – taken too soon is tragic enough.

And if I can add one more prayer, God, please watch over my baby when he's out on the road. My heart is already breaking for Danny's parents. I fear mine would break beyond repair if it hit even closer to home.

Godspeed, Danny.

Hump Day Headlinez

Double Date:  Hubby and I had a double-date tonight with our friends Gregg and Lori. Gregg and Jim graduated from AHS together a few years back. Sure, we all live in Rapids, but do we see each other? No. Last year, when they buried a classmate, they vowed the class of '81 and their spouses would get together more often. Better late than never, I guess. It was a very nice evening with longtime friends. And, as a bonus, they have excellent thin-crust pizza!

License to Drive: I can't believe it's been a year today since Carter got his driver's license. Who knew he'd be starting out with my well-used Honda Civic and upgrade to a Camaro by prom time? Good thing that was short-lived. He still has a second speaker to install on his Civic (now that the weather is nice). At least we know the gas pedal works since he's gotten caught for speeding (at least once). I will say it sure has been convenient not to have to chauffeur him around everywhere. Not that he doesn't deserve that!

Speaking of Prom: Got the official prom portrait this week. Dang. Those two look so grown-up and beautiful, don't they? I tell you, between photos like this and college campus visits, I am starting to realize there is another man living under my roof. Attempting to stay in denial, but that's not changing anything. So glad Carter and his friend Gracie had as much fun as the photo portrays. They're good KIDS.

We be Jammin': Got my "Seascape" Jams on today. Just sharing the photo now so that when I invite you to my June Jamberry Nails party, you say, "Why yes! I want what she has!" They are really fun and easy to do. I mean, seriously, even a tomboy like me can put on her princess pants and do this myself. Don't worry, we'll teach you. Just mark your calendar for 5 weeks from tonight. With more pretty details to come...

'Tis the Season

Birds singing...
Bats swinging...
Spring beginning??

I actually felt badly for the birds I heard chirping outside my window this morning. Sure it got up to 68 degrees (allegedly) but apparently they don't have a weather app to see that it is only going to be highs in the 30s the next 3 out of 4 days.

Typical that it would be nice when the Twins played their first game -- on the road -- and will be back to the 30s on Friday when our Assumption Royals take the field -- at home. 

Still, baseball is baseball and it is fun no matter how many layers we wear or how many runs we score. Though I will admit that winning is far more rewarding for those of us snuggled (yet still shivering) under blankets and down jackets for 3 hours.

The nice weather today puts us all in a good mood. That and the fact that the Badgers are playing in the Final Four this weekend. And the fact that our German "son" Lukas will be here in a little over 2 weeks. And the fact that Carter is wrapping up Driver's Ed and has his test scheduled a few days after his birthday.

He has baseball games May 1, 2 and 5 so he had to wait. Baseball = Always the priority.

Still looking forward to some good times at the ball parks. Both hubby's team and mine opened with our arch enemies today and lost. His Reds to the Cardinals, my Twins to the White Sox.

The good news is that the Cubs are already knocked out of playoff contention -- this according to my favorite satirical publication, The Onion. Hahaha. 

Play ball!

 

Mission Impossible

While Carter slept soundly in bed this morning, hubby and I were out of the house by 8 a.m. on a secret shopping mission.

After some recent discussion, we decided that perhaps I could use a "new to me" vehicle to beat in the ground on my 90-mile round-trip commute each day. And, consequently, "my" current Honda Civic would become custody of one new 16-year-old.

It was just a thought. We really hadn't planned on giving anyone a car for his birthday. And as beginner's luck would have it, we may not.

After some Internet research, we found a vehicle to suit my needs (yes, another Honda Civic). Unfortunately, when we got to the lot in Green Bay this morning, it had been sold. There's really no way we could have gotten over there any sooner in the week, so that is how things go.

We also looked at some other used cars on our route home, including a "very used" vehicle as old as Carter. Carter seems to be holding up better, though, and we passed on the idea of him driving something we didn't feel 100% comfortable in.

So we're back to square one and thankful we have time on our side. And Carter is none the wiser.

Oh wait, the secret's out?

Apparently so. Because when he drove me to Plover later, Carter mentioned the morning shopping-less spree. Great. He assured me that if he does get wheels for his birthday, though, he "will still act surprised." Whatever. I suppose it's better than his original birthday request he mentioned last week.

"If I just get a car and Eminem tickets for my birthday, that will cover the next few years of birthdays." Oh, OK, we'll get right on that. And certainly let you drive 9 hours to a rapper / rock concert in Detroit this summer.

You bet. Happy birthday.

Drama Queen

Just for giggles sometimes, I look back at my old diaries to see what I was doing "on this date in history." Wow I got a good laugh out of my junior year of high school. I must warn Carter that girls have been drama queens since I was in high school.

And I was one of them.

In November of 1984, I was 16 but still didn't have my license yet. Neither did my twin. I guess we just didn't get enough behind-the-wheel time between the two of us. (I'll have to remind Carter how good he has it!) So 29 years ago on this date, I actually had to get my permit renewed so that I could still practice. As it turned out, I ended up testing that Nov. 21st and getting my license on my first try!

I couldn't go anywhere, though.

Listen to this dramatic excerpt: "My weekend was such a bummer. Everything went wrong! And to top it off, Mom grounded Raylene and I from going anyplace for a whole month!! Except for things that are necessary. Well, to me, everything I do is necessary! But I'm sure my mom doesn't see it like that. What a bummer!"

Oh the horror. How did I survive?

I can tell you that we evil twins were grounded "for a month" so many times in our teen-hood that we are probably still grounded! Somehow, though, we still got to do things. I sneaked a peek ahead in that journal and saw that 3 weeks into my "sentence" Mom let me go to a basketball game.

That was a "necessary" event -- critical even -- since I had a crush (that week anyway) on a basketball player and was excited to see him in shorts! "I must say it was an amazing sight," I wrote.

Good lord. If I was that boy-crazy as a teen, I pity Carter and the drama he must have to deal with today. Honestly, it's there in black and white. A lot of different initials of "who I like now." Not that any of them liked me back. Then there really might have been some drama!

Wow. Lots more fun to look forward to in Carter's teen years. Thankfully, he's a boy. Not that he doesn't have his dramatic moments and not that he isn't plenty like me in many ways, but hopefully we get a few less Oscar-winning performances.

Hopefully. But I am not counting on it.

I've already seen the writing on the wall, er, paper.

Not Bad, Not Bad

It may not be a very saintly bribe, but I told Carter if he made sure to get up and go to 8 o'clock church with me this morning, he could drive home.

It must have helped to have plenty of time to pray about it ahead of time, because I was somewhat at ease.

I said somewhat, not completely.

We had to stop to get gas so he learned how to do that. And then we were on the 4-lane for awhile but did not get anywhere up to 65 mph, thank God. Then home. He really did pretty good.

In fact, he was concentrating so hard, he did not even know I snapped a picture! That's good.

He got a chance to drive some more a little bit later, too. After hubby got home from church, the three of us went over to Appleton to visit a dear friend who is in a nursing home recovering from surgery. She and her husband used to babysit Carter once in awhile way back when he was just 2 years old and living on root beer and Popsicles -- when he could get away with it. So they've seen him grow up and it was good we could bring him along.

On the way home, he got to drive the final 5 or 6 miles. He needs to slow down a bit around the corners (two-wheeling won't be good in winter time), but otherwise did just fine.

Tonight we had the end of season cross country banquet. I use the work "banquet" loosely. It was just a sort of potluck collaboration with good food and the coach's awards. The coach was very proud of what our young team (5 sophomores and 3 freshman) accomplished this year -- as individuals and a team. Carter lettered again so that was nice.

The MVP award went to one of the freshman who consistently finished first among our team AND with really good times. The MIP (Most Improved) went to a kid who managed to shave off more than 4 minutes from his PR of last season.

That kid was Carter Austin.

Proud parent moment, that's for sure! He says it's probably because last year he was just that bad. But we think part of it is his dedication and commitment this year. He really wanted to do well, and tried. He definitely is going out again next year.

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday. Seeing our son drive. And seeing him driven.

Where to Start...

In my book, November is Gratitude Month. Thanksgiving should not be the only day we give thanks, should it?

I challenge each of you to take a moment each day and find something for which you are grateful. It can be big or small or serious or silly. Just pause and thank God for it. Then, if you feel like it, share it with others -- especially those who give you that attitude of gratitude.

Today I whipped together a little GRATITUDE collage of some of the first people who came to mind...

It's a mix of family mostly and some longtime friends. If you are not pictured, please don't take offense. I grabbed whatever photos I had handy.

If I had a wall size to deal with it, I could fit even more family on both sides, my awesome Assumption family (Brenda-squared and more), my church friends and running friends and work friends and scrapbooking friends and golfing friends and ... wow. I have like 30 things to be grateful for right there and it's only Day One. I better pace myself.

I think you get the idea.

Specifically today, on All Saints Day, I am grateful for time I was able to have with my dad -- and thankful there is more time yet with my mom.

I pray for the victims of the shooting at the Los Angeles Airport and so grateful, by the grace of God, it happened hours AFTER my sister and brother-in-law flew out of there to Hawaii.

I am thankful that our love as a family can be readily seen by others. The photographer for the church picture session tonight says, "You guys are fun." Yup. We do have a good time.

I think I am grateful that Carter -- officially 15 1/2 years old today -- aced his tests at the DMV and got his temporary driving permit. Yikes!

Right now, I am thankful that as soon as I sign off, hubby and I have a movie date! We're seeing Last Vegas and expect to have some good belly laughs... and a belly full of scrumptiously buttered movie theater popcorn.

Good night. And thank YOU for reading!

Ice Cream Clone

Oh wait, I should have said CONE, but I did mean clone, after all.

Did you ever have one of those days you wish you could clone yourself so you could be at least two places at once plus get all the things done you need to get done in those paltry 24 hours we get in a day?

Sometimes you see it coming. You see it piling up before your eyes and you know you are going to reach maximum capacity with your stress level and capabilities. Other times, it just hits you. BAM! And you are overwhelmed and overstressed.

Although I allegedly thrive on deadlines -- being in a publishing career -- I sometimes forget how the extra little things can add up. Suddenly they are coming at you like a paintball machine and there is no escaping the hit.

Even though we have 5 days of work this week. With next Monday off for Labor Day, we have Monday things crammed into this week's schedule. Plus we have two extra magazines going to print and have a new e-system of sorts thrown at us editors. Oh, it's been fun. I can't believe it's only Wednesday. It has been a long week already. On the other hand, thank god it's only Wednesday. There is so much more to be done.

In the off hours, add in the random cross country practice schedule and it really comes down to this: Either I need to clone myself or Carter's needs his license ASAP. I'm not sure which would be scarier for society right now. But after a good night's sleep, I might not be in the lead on that one.

There's also a few other changes in the mix that I will have to comment on later. Right now, I gotta hit the hay early so we can go into work early and leave early for Carter's first cross country meet.

I'm just going to ignore the forecast for another 90-degree day of running. I can't do anything about it. And I don't need to add it to my pile of cone-cerns.

I mean clone.

I think.

Delayed Reaction

We woke up expecting to see those 4-8 inches of snow on the ground and wouldn't you know it, there wasn't even 4-8 flakes (not counting the ones that live here).

This is when I love that the weather man is wrong! In the end, though, he wasn't.

Snow started falling in the afternoon and we did get about 3-4 inches of it after all. Nothing to disrupt travel too much, but enough to require snow blowing. Fortunately, while the guys were at the batting cage and I was at a cleaning products party (so domestic of me), our good neighbor came over and blew our driveway out for us. Have I mentioned lately how blessed we are? If not, I should have.

Now hubby's outside finishing up the snow removal and I am allegedly gathering up garbage to take out to the curb. Shhh... I meant to take it out of our office and found myself on the computer, then decided to blog. You know how that goes. My A.D.D. knows no bounds!

I sort of have to blame Carter a bit. He handed me a flyer for driver's ed (I know!!) and that prompted me to check out some info online. I find it hard to believe we are about to cross this bridge because, well, we've come to it. Uff da. Mama is not ready for this. And really, is Carter?

He can't get his temps anyway for another 8 months so I can delay my reaction to this for awhile. No sense opening up my mind and letting the crazy out just yet. That day will come.

Just like spring will eventually get here, too. Right?

I hope so. Mr. Deck Chair and the Flip Flop twins have been crying from neglect. I'm just going to have to explain to them that if the weather man can't get the forecast right, how can we rely on a weather animal's prediction?!

Summer Time Blues

According to the calendar, it is officially Summer. Whoo-hoo! It seems like I've been waiting forever!

According to real life, we are back in Old Testament biblical times, ready to build an ark with our buddy Noah, hoping he'll welcome aboard Jim and Carter as his two Austins and Sylvester and me as his two princesses.

We woke up to rain and cold, commuted to work in steady, hard rain and hail, and now are in the "orange" on the local radar. Nice, eh? This was one of those long days -- well the longest in 2011 actually -- that you just wanted to stay home and read a good book under a blanket somewhere.

Instead, we worked. And after work I had the joy of stopping at the DMV in Stevens Point to renew my driver's license. It expires on my birthday next week so I was pretty close to deadline here.

What an experience. I don't know which is worse -- how much I had to adjust my weight from the last time or the fact that the next time I renew, I will be over 50 years old and Carter will be ready to start his senior year of college. Uff da! There is no winning in this situation!

At least my picture turned out nice.

Came home and started getting little piles of packing done around the house -- me getting ready for my brother's 50th birthday party Up North on Friday (no offense about the age comment) and Carter getting ready for confirmation camp on Sunday. I figure I better have everything for him in order before I leave town Friday because baseball will get in the way of getting anything else done before Sunday.

Now that's the part of Summer I enjoy -- all the June birthdays in my family and Bible camp. Fun stuff.

Now we just need a reason to pack shorts!

As Old As You Feel

They say you're only as old as you feel. Which is why hubby often asks to see my birth certificate. "Are you sure you're not 60?" To which I respond, after a few creaks and groans, "Now listen here, sonny..."

Seriously, some days it's tough to get out of bed when you have a rough (limited) night's sleep. But then, during the day, there's these reminders that we really are getting old.

If you have a teenager in the house (or even if you don't), you probably can't miss the hype around the new Twilight movie this weekend. Seriously? Vampires? What's the big deal? Then I realize the only "vampire" type movie I saw was Fright Night -- and that was way back when I was a junior in high school. C'mon, you remember it, don't you? Yikes. Time flies.

I also realized when I peeked at my diary from my sophomore year, that 25 years ago this week -- that's right, I said 25 -- I got my driver's license! Holy crap. That's just not right! That means Carter will have his temps in 4 years. Ohmigosh. Who started this conversation anyway?

So to further my trip down memory lane, I am going to see an old friend tomorrow. And I can call her old because she's the same age as me -- and boy, do I feel old today. Plus we've been BFFs for more than 25 years -- that's right, I said 25.

Who needs backaches and blood-thirsty movies when you've got friends like that? That's when age feels good. A lifetime of good.

License to drive

Jim and I had the unusual opportunity for a Friday night date this weekend. As it turned out, Carter was at a sleepover so we were free to do as we pleased.

We had already planned to go to Golden Sands Speedway outside of Wisconsin Rapids to see Jim's nephew Colin Reffner race. My stepson Casey also wanted to go so he volunteered to pick us up and chauffeur us to the races. Now that's going out in style!

I didn't remember until I got into the backseat that this was the first time I had ridden with him. (He just got his license a month ago.) He seemed pretty relaxed and handled the stick shift well. I was impressed until he pulled out from a stop sign in the path of a car I (and Dad) thought was going pretty fast. "What? I had all day," he said. Teenagers know everything, don't they?

We enjoyed the races. Colin, who is only 13 (talk about worrying your mother) and racing a 4-cylinder car, finished fifth in his race. And I'm happy to report we made it to and from the races safe and sound. I white-knuckled it a bit, but I think it will get better. I'm sure I put my parents through the same thing.

I can remember driving with my dad when I passed a car for the first time and cut right back in front of it with little room to spare. I got quite a talking to from Dad.

Of course, this is from the same guy who when I was riding with him, coasted through a stop sign and told me the ones with white borders are "optional."

I guess for every teen with a driver's license, there is an adult with a license to B.S.