Holy Spirit, watch over my children as they drive!

Christopher and Michael have their driver's licenses, and our 17-year-old daughter, Sam, will test for the license any day now. There are so many thoughts that bounce around in my head when I realize that the person sitting next to me in the Mocha Machine (our pet name for the 2000 Pontiac Montana that we own) was expelled from my womb just yesterday (or so it seems). I think about her youth, my aging; her safety, my safety; her sheer exhilaration, my sheer terror.you get the idea.

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NASHVILLE, TN - Jim graciously accepted the role of driving instructor, and he did an amazing job. I didn't think there would be much for me to do after Sam got used to driving Hwy. K and Mexico Road. She even drove I-70 on a recent Saturday morning trip to grandma's house. I now know that my biggest contribution to a would-be licensed driver is to watch my Ps and Qs.

BC (before children for this column's sake), I used to yell at less-than-attentive drivers. We all do it at some point in our lives. Hopefully, by the time we reach 40, we've grown out of it. In my 20s, I yelled things like, 'Hey, moron! Where'd you get your license, Kmart?' AC (after children) I used to mumble little gems like, 'It's called a turn signal, you idiot.' And ACWLAC (after children who listen and copy) I toned it down to something like, 'Nice one, bud/chick'.

I've learned that no one is perfect, and anyone can have a bad day. So if someone cuts out in front of me and drives 20 mph in a 40 mph zone, I just think to myself, 'That's o.k., honey.' And, especially when the kids are in the van I do things like waving to someone who is kind enough to let me into traffic.

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This school year, however, has (at times) brought me full circle to BC Shelly. I still drive Sam to high school every once-in-a-while. Our goal is to make it out the door by 7:10 a.m. I think we've managed to meet that goal once or twice this year. But we still get out the door early enough for the Sam to get to her locker and into her first-hour class on time. I turn left out of our subdivision onto Knaust, which is usually backed up from a stop sign at Progress South Elementary School south to the street from which I turn. Knaust is a two-lane street, with a turn lane in the middle. Most of us, I'm sure, are acutely aware that the turn lane is for left turns. And the majority of us know that we are supposed to drive in the turn lane for a few hundred feet before making a left turn.

There are those, I've discovered, who think the left turn lane is their own personal express lane to South Middle School. These people drive in the turn lane for at least two-tenths of a mile before turning into South Middle School to drop their child(ren) off for the day.

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That annoys me. Why? Because these people seem to consider themselves so important that the rules of the road (and of etiquette, by the way) don't apply. The people I'm talking about are the repeat offenders. Or at least they used to be. The lady who drove the green minivan hasn't done it in a while. She used to on a daily basis. And for the past few weeks I've watched someone in a dark gray Dodge drive past me in the turn lane.

I think it just annoys me because these people have some superiority complex. I'm still careful of the words I choose, but I do think it needs to be discussed when the kids are in the van. So we talk about being polite while driving, about following the law, and about the dangers of driving in a turn lane for two-tenths of a mile.

This morning Sam noticed an O'Fallon police officer in the Boonslick State School for the Severely Handicapped, located just south of Progress South Elementary and South Middle School. Not 1.4 seconds later the dark gray Dodge passed us in the turn lane.

'Yes!' I exclaimed with a fist pump as we all watched the police officer turn on his lights and pull the Dodge over. I then promptly apologized to my children for the emotional display (it was more than a 'Yes!' with a fist pump.I think some Vincent Price-type laughter may have been a part of the scene).

I used to be a 'Do as I say and not as I do' kind of person. Don't be that kind of person. It doesn't work. Be the kind of person you want your child to be. You will mess up from time to time, and that is where humility must be the dominating force, not self-righteousness.

While still glowing from the Dodge's misfortune, I rolled through the three-way stop sign (something I used to do way too much.a Florida stop I call it).

'Hey, Mom,' Sam said from the passenger seat.

'Yeah, sweetie'?  I asked, still grinning from ear to ear.

'You didn't come to a full and complete stop,' she said.

Here is where the Holy Spirit gave me the grace to think before speaking. Humility, remember?

'You're absolutely correct,' I said. 'It's a good thing the police officer is busy. We should never be in such a hurry that we don't stop at a stop sign.'

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Sam is learning to drive. Shelly is learning that children notice just about everything we say and do. Let's be careful out there.

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