It is 7:30 p.m. and we have just put pajamas on, ready to watch a movie with the boys and veg out. It was a full day at the zoo and hot to boot. I am just ready to lean my head on one of the boys shoulders and relax. Then the phone rings… a neighbour wants to know if Sammy want to go to the arcade down the street…
We don’t want him to go alone since he will be getting a ride back. He just needs a ride there.
I learned to drive when I was 16 years old. While it was great to have some freedom, it was also a nescessate because my dad was the only driver. (My mom did not get her licease till she was 50+). So it was great for my parents to have another driver around. You know how it is… when you first get your licease, you are willing to drive anywhere. “Oh you need milk? I’ll go!”
Well the weird thing was I was not allowed to go ANYWHERE unless my younger brother came along. How dumb… was he going to save me in case of an emergency? NO! But I had to take Rajiv along wherever I had to go. He loved that sense of power.
Then came the Saturday night events at school that I would want to go. Yet the answer was “only if Rajiv is going too.” How weird and crazy. It was so infrueating. I was already a nerd. Then I had to take my nerdy brother with me too? GRRR….
Then there was the “you can go if you get a ride.” First of all, we lived in the boonies… in a part of town not too many people lived. Second of all, I never really wanted others to come to our house. You never knew what could happen. So… getting a ride was not an option.
I remember that frustration so clearly. Maybe my parents were tired. Or maybe it was an other way to keep a tight control over my life.
Sanj had the look of “I really don’t want to go out now.” Sammy had the look of … “please?” I got off my butt, drive the 2 minutes it took to drop him off. We both feel good.