Most people associate the term March Madness with the NCAA basketball tournaments, but in our family, this is not the case. The reason could be because basketball is not even in the top five sports we follow. But that’s not the reason. In our family, March is madness because we celebrate four birthdays and a wedding anniversary during the month.
Every year, I kick off the festivities with my birthday on the first. Now that I’m past 50, I try not to pay it much attention. This year, I did throw a little extra madness on the month by running a marathon on the 2nd.
This year we also have a special birthday: our daughter turns 15 on the 12th. A 15th birthday brings our family phrase “happy scary” to mind. This phrase refers to something that is terrifying yet thrilling at the same time, like a toddler watching fireworks for the first time.
Photo Credit: elctrciansydney Flickr via Compfight cc
While there will be no quinceanera for my daughter, there will certainly be a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles this week. Fifteen is the age at which drivers in South Carolina are allowed to take their beginner’s permit test, and my daughter is anxious to start her journey to freedom on the road. While my wife and I are happy to see the light at the end of the tunnel for my wife’s chauffeur service, we are anxious, too, knowing we’ll soon have a teenage driver on the road.
I’m also anxious because I will be giving driving lessons again. The age gap between my children is wide enough for the previous experience of teaching our son to have faded from my consciousness, and I’m a little rusty as a teacher. I think we’ll start with the small cross-over vehicle with an automatic transmission. Then we’ll go for the advanced driving skills required for our 5-speed Jeep and the associated clutch. Then the madness will truly commence.
Thanks for reading.
Greg
