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What are you waiting for?
Living in a small town certainly had its share of ups and downs. Everyone knowing everything about you, sometimes even before you could figure them out was definitely not one of the highlights of my existence. This morning though, I was determined to prove otherwise. Ushering my two youngest children into the beat up pick-up was not the way they had planned on spending their Saturday morning. If I would have known what to expect, I may have chosen to do things much more different. At least I hoped so.
The rain was beating down so fiercely that the wipers could barely keep up. The petty squabbling between my girls was making the small headache I had woken with start to feel like a mini explosion behind my right eye. I knew at any moment I was going to turn into my mother and the dreaded words were going to tumble from my mouth as they always had from her whenever we went on an errand. “If you don't stop right now, when we get to the store you can park your behinds here in the car!”
I didn't want to turn into my mother, even knowing there were times when I slipped and things she said while I was growing up came pouring from my lips. I was determined to keep my temper in check. So I did what I thought was best, I cranked the stereo to an oldies station and began singing loudly and off-key. That quickly made the girls stop their arguing and the begging began.
“Mom!” Corrine whined. She was my youngest. At 13 she thought she owned the world and that everyone just had to fall into place. “Turn it down!”
“We can't talk over the music!” Heather, my 15 year old, chimed in.
“That would be the whole point!” I grumbled, pausing my singing. “Now if you two would like to find a way to get along, I will gladly change the channel. If not... I can always continue.”
“No!” They cried in unison.
“We'll be good. I swear it.” Corrine finished.
A slow smile crossed my lips but I quickly smothered it before the girls caught on to what I was doing. If it brought me a few moments of peace, it was well worth it. “Another couple of minutes and we'll be there.” Glancing out the window, I noted that we would shortly be passing the abandoned military base that still stood between my home and the next small town.
to be continued...
