Motherhood is full of surprises.
I'll never forget the day my friend Golda leaned over the back seat of the car I was driving to replace the binkie that had fallen out of my oldest daughter's mouth.
“Before you know it,” Golda said, “this child will move out of her infant seat and into the driver’s seat.”
I looked at my friend like she was cracking up. Her youngest son had left the nest only a short time before, and I thought maybe he had taken a few of her marbles with him.
But Golda was right. Before you know it came along before I knew it. Suddenly my precious baby was 16 years old. I couldn't believe how quickly she had grown--first sprouting teeth, then hair, then curves, then a mind of her own. Especially a mind of her own.
In fact, about the only thing she hadn't sprouted yet was a set of wheels, and she was ready for those long before I was. The day she finished driver's training she locked herself in the bathroom, which she claimed was the only private place in our house, announcing her intentions of thoroughly preparing herself for the drivers license test.
“Sh--h! Your big sister is studying,” I cautioned my younger kids.
“But she's been in there forever,” one son protested.
I begin to protest myself when, after what seemed like hours, Jennifer still didn't seem to be prepared.
“Exactly how much time does it take to get ready for a driver’s test?” I finally asked through the door.
“Hold your horses, Mom! I 'm almost ready,” she said, emerging from the bathroom perfectly coifed with every har in place and her face expertly made up right down to the corners of her smiling lips.
“But where's your training manual?” I wanted to know. “ I thought you were preparing for your driver’s test, not a beauty pageant?”
“I was preparing for my driver’s test,” Jennifer answered, “but I don't know why anyone would need a book for that. What I need is a color chart.”
“A color chart? You mean a chart to find out whether or not you're color blind?”
“Of course not, Mom,” she groaned. “What I need to find out right now is whether or not this blouse will match the background on my driver’s license.”
I didn't say anything to that--just stood there with my mouth open, wondering how that girl had managed to outgrow her infant she seat after only 16 years.
