The Art of Listening

I have learned a lot of things these last 13 years or so of driving children around. Important things! And some not so important things. First the important: your children will talk to you more in the van than they will at home. And you need to LISTEN!!!!!!

It starts when they are young and they are talking about absolutely nothing. Those are the conversations where you think putting a bullet through your head is a better alternative than listening to five more minutes of chatter that is going nowhere! But you can't do that. You have to listen! Little children, little problems, big children, big problems is so true but so is, "if you listen to them when they are little, they will talk to you when they are big!"

A teenager ready to talk will do it so much easier in a car. Especially to a mom who they know will always listen to them. A teen will talk to you in a car because there is not the awkwardness of having to look your mom in the face when you are telling her things she may not want to hear, but she needs to hear! As I drive my children here and there, we have become closer. I start to see them as people and not just my baby. I can look at the road and keep my poker face during whatever they tell me and give myself time to think before I react to what they are saying. It's a win-win situation! It's a great way to touch base with your teen, what are they doing and with whom? I've given advice, just listened, laughed and cried with them. It's mom's mobile therapy! "Have problems, will travel!"

Now to the lighter side of lessons. Pet peeve while driving number one: "people" and by "people", I mean "men", who drive in snowy weather like Mario Andretti. I saw a man today, (did I see that it was a man, no, but I just know it was, trust me), who was driving his silver sports car, on the snowy road, windows uncleared, brake lights covered with snow, (it didn't matter though because his lights were not on!), going about 90 miles an hour! As the snow is blowing off of his car, and on to everyone else's front windshield, he is leaving a wake of destruction behind him. He's gonna kill somebody today and it ain't going to be him! I bet his window was down and he was smoking a cigarette and drinking coffee too.

And of course there I am saying "look at that jerk' quietly to myself, but still out loud as if I am in a documentary about crazy drivers. I would make such a good narrator for that. I may have to suggest to my son Jacob, who is in college to learn directing, that someday I would be willing to collaborate with him on this. Next time I have him in my van, I just may do that!