The night my life changed forever

Was the title dramatic enough for you? Please breathe a sigh of relief. It was not a traumatic life-altering catastrophe. Well, it was traumatic to me and it obviously altered my life or I wouldn’t be writing this. Thank God, however, it was not a catastrophe. In fact, it was an event whose time had come. Last night, for the first time, my son drove by himself to the school basketball game. That’s not that noteworthy, he’s eighteen years old, so it’s about time. He was the world’s oldest teenager without a license. But not any more. And that’s the rub.

After twenty of years of chauffeuring my children it has come to an end. My life is changed forever. No more arranging my schedule around theirs. Since none of my children attended the local schools, a trip to school was always a round trip of over twenty miles. Usually three or four times a week, sometimes two or three times a day. I will confess it has gotten old. Twenty years is a long time (and a lot of gas money and tire wear).

So why was it traumatic? Well besides being a nervous wreck (which is what I was worried about), I can’t believe my children are all grown. My son obviously was not in a rush to drive, many of his friends have been driving for over a year. Last night I realized that maybe I wasn’t in a rush for him to drive either. My baby boy is a man.