Inspired by...

We--all of us--have been made for goodness. We have been made for laughter. We have been made for caring, sharing, for compassion for we do indeed inhabit a moral universe. Yes, goodness is powerful.

Desmond Tutu

. . .

To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children...to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition...to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived: this is to have succeeded.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

. . .

Love shared anywhere transforms situations everywhere. Your life is your corner of the garden; tend to that and you tend to the world

Marianne Williamson

 

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The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life
Deafening
The Spies of Warsaw


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Friday
Dec112009

Car talk

Best place .09  |  the front seat of my car, 6:45 a.m. to 7:15 a.m. weekdays

It's not that we don't love each other.  Or that I don't get what it's like to be a 16-year-old girl or the oldest daughter in the family.  But sometimes Lauren and I clash, caught in a pattern of misunderstanding and frustration. Sometimes I lecture for so long, even I get tired of the sound of my voice.  And, yep, sometimes she gets a look in her eye and set to her jaw that tells me she's just not listening.

Every morning I drive her from her before-school religious education class (seminary) to her school, a drive that takes about 35 minutes.  As we watch the sun rise and the morning mist lift, we talk.  I hear about who likes who, fire drills, friendship dynamics, styles, rumors, her dreams, her crushes, her fears. We share music and opinions.  Car rides have become our DeMilitarized Zone.

The best place of 2009 is the front seat of my car, every morning of the school week.  Before long she'll have her license and be self propelled but for now I'm milking those morning moments for all they've got.

. . .

Day 11 of the Best of 09 challenge.  What was your best place in 09?

Reader Comments (3)

What a blessing, those car rides!
My daughter is only one and a half, I could not even start to imagine what it would be like when she is older. I do know that place from when I was the daughther. Life is interesting.
Thanks for sharing this.

12.11.2009 | Unregistered Commentermamaayanna

I need a demilitarized zone already with the girl in my life. I think she and I will be much like you and L. So alike that we butt heads against each other. I like that this was your best place of '09. You're a good mama.

12.12.2009 | Unregistered CommenterChristie

That is a great place for sure!

12.13.2009 | Unregistered CommenterLiz

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