Mother Of The Driver

I am now the proud and oh so very concerned, owner of two drivers!
When Number 1 passed his test (3rd time lucky), it was clear that he was not that interested in driving and as the pass coincided with him going off to uni, we happily put off getting him a car until he was home for the summer.
Number 2 has been a very different kettle of fish, passing first time and making sure he was on the insurance 10 minutes later, to be honest, we haven't seen much of  him since.
They are supposed to be sharing a car as we don't feel it's worth taxing and insuring two of them but with Number 1 home for the summer , things are getting a little bit tricky. Number 1 is keen to stake his claim on the car, which in fairness, was bought for him but Number 2 is keen to be out and about on an almost 24 hour basis, offering lifts to his non driving friends and frantically cleaning and generally loving the car to bits.
I now miss the days when they couldn't get to places without me and find myself listening for sirens for up to thirty minutes after they leave. I hadn't realised how many good things I could find to say about public transport until trying to persuade my precious offspring not to taake the car.
Somewhat vindicated, Number 1 had a prang this week, no one was hurt and it really wasn't his fault, the driver pulled out on him and held her hands up immediately, ironically it was a learner driver whose instructor forgot she had dual control! Little does she know, she's done me a favour, as he now can't drive to London this weekend! Oh dear, he'll have to take the train! What a shame. Anyone else recognise this dilemma?  EJ

Answer Your Phone!!

So, your 13 year old son goes out with his friends, plays football, chats, buys some lunch and is told that he has to be home by 5pm. At 5.15 you text him to ask where he is, no answer. You text again, no answer. You call and phone goes straight to voicemail. You know, that phone, that is permanently attached to the end of his arm!! The one he stares at for every unoccupied waking hour!!
 Getting increasingly worried, you text one of the friend's parents, to check if their son is home. He is. At 5.40 you get in the car and drive the route you think he will take home, you find him and he tells you his phone is out of charge! Apparently, no one knew the time, he was on his way home but it "wasn't his fault" that he couldn't let you know.
What would you do?
I explained that in the interest of safety he needs to be home on time and if he knew his phone was out of charge he should of made sure he got home sooner. He is, however, convinced that it couldn't be helped and he had no way of knowing the time.
I have taken the phone from him for the remainder of the evening as a "consequence" and have said that I will charge it and give it back tomorrow. I feel totally justified but he is very unhappy and clearly feels I am being unjust and unfair. You'd think I'd cut his arm off!
Further proof that mobile phones are a double edged sword. As a parent it's great, if and when, your kids answer straight away or are able to get you when they need you. The opposite is true, however, when this sort of thing occurs and panic sets in quicker than it would in the pre mobile years. (Remember them?!)
When you then take into account how much our children rely on their phones for their social lives the mobile phone becomes a poison chalice. What do you think? EJ

Where is my Charger?

I know I'm not alone. The proof is there to see in the homes of many of my friends.....The mystery of the disappearing phone charger!!
I think it's fair to say that this a problem unique to the mums of this world, just look next time you pop round to a friend for a coffee or a chat and you'll see the charger, marked out in some way as belonging to MUM!!!
I've tried everything I can think of:
Writing my name in permanent marker.
Covering both plug and lead with pink stickers. (Pink has always been my first line of defence when protecting pens, pencils, binders, sports socks etc)
Hiding the damn thing in our bedroom.
Nothing works. Somehow, the one person who only takes her charger out of the house if she goes on holiday, is the person who manages to "lose" her charger! How?
The best yet was last week, as Number 1 went away for a few days and as he left, called over his shoulder, that my new charger would arrive tomorrow!
"But I don't need a new charger?!" I replied
Apparently I did, as mine had just left the building!
If anyone has found a way to hold on to their charger, without having their kids adopted, please let me know.  EJ

Model Looks

Now it's not often I get a compliment off of number 3 these days, back handed or otherwise but I'm choosing to see this latest little giggle of his as one whatever he says.
As we drove away from the Chinese take away last night he decided to tell me that he and his friends had seen mannequins, in a shop window nearby, that they all agreed look like me!
"Really?" I replied, expecting some sort of joke about age or clothes.
"Yes" he replied, "They are all made of black plastic and they haven't got eyes or anything but they've got your sort of face and hair and shape."
This reminded me of a visit to a soft play area years ago, when my friend's son had lost us and found an employee who asked him what his mum looked like. "She's got hair and a face." he replied. Somehow, they managed to find my friend. Anyway, I digress.
Call me vain but I've been back to sneak a look at these mannequins, yes they are made of black plastic, which I am not and no, they don't have any features but as far as a mannequin goes they're not half bad.
 I've decided to take this as a compliment as it is certainly the closest I'm going to get to being told I look like a model! Thanks Number 3. EJ