Funny, funny, funny

Today I both read and saw on the news a story that just made me laugh. It was about a mom who in a fit of anger (or perhaps wisdom) kicked her bickering girls out of the car 3 miles away from home. The link to the story (oh, and do read the comments which follow the story):





http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30344675/





Now here's the problem with the story, there isn't enough information. We don't know how long this mom had put up with the bickering girls. We don't know what they were bickering about or how intense the fighting had gotten. We don't know what kind of neighborhood she dropped them off in nor do we know if she drove around the block and came back for them. And we don't know what she was really contemplating doing to them when she decided it was safer for all concerned to just kick them out of the car and drive away. We just don't know enough. But I will say this, my sympathies are totally with the mom!!

I was remembering two separate incidents when my parents threatened me and my brother as a result of our bickering.

The first was on a Christmas trip to California. We had gotten to the half way point and probably had driven our parents nuts. We stopped for the night and they announced to us that we were heading back home in the morning because they couldn't take our fighting any more!! I remember crying myself to sleep and resolving that the fighting would end immediately. The next morning we got in the car and to our immense relief they continued driving to Calif. I doubt that we fought for even one second the rest of the way, probably bent over backwards being kind and loving. But I bet, can't say that I remember for sure, we picked up the fighting once we were headed back for home after the Calif. Christmas - after all, what could they threaten us with then?

The second incident occurred when we were on our way back to our farm from somewhere - I don't remember where. I guess we were carrying on in the back seat beyond endurance because my dad finally stopped the car and we were ordered out and told to walk home. No neighbors nearby, no stores, we were waaaaaayyyyyy out in the country. As our parents drove away leaving us in a cloud of dust they shouted, "We hope the bears don't get you!!" Now I think we should have been scared or sorry but instead we became a team with a mission to accomplish. We started walking and then remembered that dad had told us about a shortcut that he used to take through a quaking aspen patch and so we left the road and headed for that patch of trees. We truly fought our way through the undergrowth and the trees, we could have used a machete, and we were having a great time. We had made pretty good progress when we heard our parents frantic voices calling our names. We headed back to the road to find them, talk about trauma and emotional scarring, mom and dad were beside themselves with fear and panic. They acted all brave and everything but they also told us they were worried that the bears really had gotten us. I don't remember them ever ordering us out of the car again. I guess they learned their lesson!!



Now let's talk about emotional scarring and trauma - when I was a kid my dentist didn't use novacaine. And I still can't handle going to the dentist!! Yep, scarred for life!!