Hello Monday... on a Tuesday
Mom's taxi service- in operation from late December 2000 to February, 2021 ended when Alyssa got her driver's license on Friday. Over twenty years of needing to take kids to the dentist, ortho, sports practices/ tournaments/ competitions/ camps, friends' houses, the doctor/ physical therapist/ chiropractor, Walmart/ Kroger/ CVS for last minute needing or wanting items for school, school, church and church events, etc.- many years of their lives needing transportation because they couldn't get to those places themselves. Now, all three kids can get to where they need to be. It's the end of an era and truly one that has some negatives and some positives. The positives were felt immediately- Alyssa took herself to all of her social events over the weekend, freeing up my time. The negative will probably hit me later when I miss spending time with Alyssa in the car. I tried to appreciate all of the time we had together in the car in the months that she had her permit and and had to drive with me because I knew those days were numbered.
Alyssa took her drivers test in Chilicothe, OH which is almost an hour and half away from our house. The reason for that is a long, boring story- concisely, it was the closest place she could take the test in February. All of the places closer to us were booked until March. I picked Alyssa up from school early after having worked a sub job in the am, running to the bank to get an affidavit notarized, and running to the post office to get Abby's Valentine's Day package mailed. It ended up being a busy day with almost three hours of it driving Alyssa to and from Chilicothe. But it was worth it obviously, because she passed and now can drive. We had celebratory Chinese food for dinner.
Abby liked receiving her Valentine's Day package at college- it arrived on Monday even though the lady working at the post office said it would arrive on Saturday. I'm glad it came on Monday!
Saturday, we went to a closer BMV to get Alyssa's paperwork processed. We were going to have to wait at least an hour to the paperwork processed in Chilicothe after Alyssa passed the test on Friday and we were both anxious to leave. So Alyssa couldn't legally drive until we arrived home from the Franklin BMV which is where we got her paperwork processed, fees paid, etc. Alyssa went on her first solo drive later in the day to pick up her best friend and bring her back to our house. The four of us went out to dinner at a sushi place we hadn't been to before. This was a belated birthday dinner (a long, boring story why her birthday dinner happened over two weeks past her birthday). Donnie and I don't care for sushi but there was plenty of cooked food on the menu so all was ok :). On our way home, per the girls' request, we stopped at Bill's Donuts. The line was out the door and it was cold but we had great service and got great donuts, cookies and one pistachio muffin so all was well that ended well.
Cooked shrimp, ftw, for me!
Sunday was church which was good, as usual. Our pastor quipped that someone in the first service came up to him after the first service and said that the word, "Bengal" is not mentioned in the Bible at all but the word, "ram" is mentioned numerous times and the rams mentioned in the Bible end up getting slaughtered (lol, in kind of a macabre way). Anyway, well, that wasn't prescient was it? Good game up until the last minute or so.
Sunday in the evening some light snow fell and there was a chance of snow overnight. I wanted a two hour delay so badly! Some schools near us had planned two hour delay on Monday due to the Superbowl (and some had canceled entirely). It was not in the cards for us, unfortunately. I trudged to school to sub and heard kids talking intermittently all day about the game. One bright spot during the school day was that I received a Valentine's Day gram from a student. Students could send a Valentine's greetings to a student or staff complete with candy for a small fee. One of the students from my long term sub job sent me a Valentine's Day gram. It was so sweet! And then at home, Donnie gave me two kinds of my favorite chocolate. Also, my taxi service was called into use again after a very brief hiatus. Alyssa couldn't drive to school on Monday because she had to show proof of her license, having insurance and paying a fee before the school gave her a parking pass. So I picked her and a friend up from the high school when I was done subbing.
"Ms. Renner" was happy to receive her greeting and sucker... At first, I couldn't figure out what the student had drawn. I came to the conclusion that it was a book. This student loves to read and would always ask if he could read instead of doing his assignments. Obviously I told him he couldn't though I loved how much he liked to read.
Congrats to Alyssa and you Mama- bittersweet for sure! That shrimp looks amazing- yum :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, HOlly. Bittersweet for sure!!
DeleteWhat a great weekend! I feel all of the words about the end of an era being here with your daughter being able to drive herself. I expected that to get easier with each of our sons, but I was surprised it never did. I was also surprised that I cried every single time the first time they drove away. Just this week, I noticed that three years ago in a memory on Facebook, my Jonah leaned over to me and told me (as we sat waiting on their haircut appointments) that it'd be the last time I'd ever have to drive them to that again. I may have had to excuse myself to the restroom so I could go have a good cry! And he was right. That was the last time.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like Alyssa had a fun and delicious birthday celebration! I love Japanese/Chinese food, and that shrimp looks yummy. I'm so sorry your team lost in the big game. I actually thought about your family as we sat and watched. We weren't really partial to any one team over the other, but I always feel bad for whoever loses when it's a close game. They were really evenly matched and though it makes for an exciting game, that's not how you want it when it's your team playing.
I hope you're having a good week so far, my friend. Take care!
Thanks Jennifer! I kept thinking about the "lasts" when I was driving Alyssa- last time taking her to her friend's house, last time taking her to the gym, the last time picking her up from school, etc. So far, I am enjoying not driving as much but I KNOW that it will bother me soon :).
DeleteHow insightful that Jonah said that to you about driving. When my son was close to getting his license, I would drive him to soccer practice and this one song ALWAYS played on the radio when I was taking him to soccer. I told him that when soccer season was over, whenever I would hear that song, I would think about the soccer season. He told me he would also associate it with this particular season. Both of us talk about it to this day if the song comes one. For me, I also associate it as a time period very close to the end of me driving him places since we was close to sixteen.