I'm not allowed, under pain of death, to post any photos of my daughter's prom. And I thought I might use my son's graduation photos for Mosaic Monday. Or maybe not. But anyway, I'm reduced to posting salt and pepper shakers. lol
But thank you so much for your words of encouragement yesterday. They mean more to me than you can imagine. Thank you for sharing your experience and your dreams. Thank you for being my role models and my inspiration. Thank you.
***
A little story here about my daughter, one I'm sure most of you who are mothers will relate to:
I'm not sure what the traditions are in other states, or countries for that matter, but here in New Jersey, it is almost a tradition that kids go down the shore (to the beach) after senior prom. So last night found us waving goodbye to our daughter at midnight. All her friends had gone in other cars, so she was facing the two and a half hour drive alone. We were not thrilled with this, but she's a smart kid and a good driver, so we didn't object.
She called us as instructed, about two hours later to say that she had arrived in the town, but was having trouble finding the house. We pulled up Google Maps and tried to direct her, but she kept saying that she didn't see it. She had been following an address and directions given her by one of the other kids in the house, and after awhile we realized that she was actually in the wrong town.
There we were, my husband and I, frantically searching on our computers, to try and find where she was supposed to go. I installed VZ Navigator on my phone, so she could follow satellite directions. My husband even tried to call the local police department in the town where she was, but they did not answer the phone at 3:00 am. Can you believe that?! What kind of police department doesn't answer the phone at night???
Finally we had her pull into the parking lot of a doctor's office, got that address and the correct address for her destination, and were able to direct her once again using Google Maps. We even pulled up Google Street View so that we could talk to her about what she was seeing at each turn. At 4:00 am, she finally arrived, safe and sound, at her destination.
O. M. G.
I know several of you took me to task for saying that I was old yesterday, but let me tell you that I feel a lot older today. About ten years older. It's a good thing I've got an appointment for a cut and color this week, because my hair turned gray overnight. ;)
*********
Are you ready for Mosaic Monday this week? AM I? Anyway, I hope you will join me. Mr. Linky will be up by 8:30 pm Eastern time, USA, Sunday night. By which time I will probably be about 100 years old. lol
Posts
Oh my! I would have been a wreck. Glad she finally got there safe.
ReplyDeleteOh, no! Glad everything turned out OK. You deserve a long afternoon nap!
ReplyDeleteHoly crap! My daughter's only 7, and I think I aged 10 years just reading this. So glad your daughter is alright and safe. That's very scary - not knowing where you are and late at night, no less! I too know how wonderful it is to be able to call on Mom!
ReplyDeleteLong, long night! Whatcha doing up so early? Oh my gracious, these are just the kinds of things that drive parents bonkers. (My Boston niece had a habit of calling and visiting while she walked home late after work. Did I say in Boston? Scary stuff. I really didn't look forward to those phonecalls.)
ReplyDeleteGod bless you all!
ReplyDeleteRemember the day when we didn't have this type of technology at the tip of our hands and women had lilac colored hair? Grins.
Thank the Lord some things have truly improved.
Have a great hair day and smile alot.
d
Where are my manners? I also meant to mention your photograph of the salt and pepper shakers is outstanding!!! So lovely.
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Oh, don't our kids turn our hair gray, lol. What a tale your daughter will have to tell her kids, lol. I think my hair started turning gray the night my oldest daughter was traveling back to college her freshman year after spring break and got stranded at O'Hare in Chicago overnight because of thunderstorms. So far from home and so alone....we both survived :)
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend :)
Blessings!
Gail
poor thing! i'm glad our traditions were always just stay up all night at a friend's house.
ReplyDeleteEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!! do you need a good nap and a cup of tea, now? My sister came HOME, after her prom, with two other couples and they watched all three of the original Star Wars movies in a row. I came downstairs, Saturday morning to three very elegantly dressed, sleeping groupies! (My sister wore a hot pink vintage '50s gown.)
ReplyDeleteYou know, I've read all of this and written all of this to "What a wonderful world." It's like a movie soundtrack! Very funny!
Love, katy Noelle
Omigoodness, this is a total PSA for the importance of GPS!!! So happy to hear that your daughter arrived safely...hope she has a wonderful time :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, it's perfectly natural to be a wreck... believe me, that's happened many-a-times with my mom!
ReplyDeleteHope your daughter had a wonderful time ♥
I could feel the fright just reading this story, Mary. And I can only imagine how you felt. Good idea telling her to pull into the doctor's office parking lot. How scary for her! We were lost in NYC immediately after dropping off my son one time. Although we had a good map, we got stuck in traffic coming into the city and by the time we dropped him off, it was dark and then it began to rain. He did the same thing with us, and his calm voice made me less afraid. Although your daughter's experience was much worse because she wasn't sure where she was. I bet just being connected to you and hearing your voice helped.
ReplyDeleteYeah, can you imagine all those years ago when we didn't have cell phones?! Very scary. Good to hear the kids still head down the shore.
Can SO relate Mary. My daughter is such a free spirit and gets up to all sorts of adventures that test my faith in her, me and God. She definitely gives my trust muscle lots of exercise and it is getting stronger.
ReplyDeleteI remember taking my daughter and her friend when they were 8ish to the Calgary Stampede and losing them and that sinking, sinking feeling that verges on panic.
Oh good grief. I can so relate. I've been through several similar situations with my three when they were growing up and unfortunately even after they were grown. I definitely know I have earned every gray hair and every crevise in my face. Bless you. So glad she is ok. Hugs, Marty
ReplyDeleteOh, my! Did you panic? I think I would have! Good job getting her where she was supposed to go. I hope she has a wonderful time. I must have somehow missed your last post. I am thinking it must have had something to do with getting older. I have those moments when it bothers me a lot, then I just try to remember that I am also getting wiser (I hope?). Have a wonderful weekend. Carla
ReplyDeleteOh me, crazy indeed. So glad she got there safely. And you must be breathing a huge sigh of relief today!
ReplyDeleteOh yes Mary! Been there, done that and even once they're married with children, the worry never stops. The maternal instinct must remain with us until the day that we die. :-)
ReplyDeleteAs for your previous post that I just read; one door closes and another one opens. I am doing now something totally different than from when I worked and love it - became a Master Gardener and freelance writer. So much fun and still much to learn.
Judith
Bless you dear lady and thank the lord for google!
ReplyDeleteOhhhh I so relate. Thank goodness it worked out!
ReplyDeleteI remember those kind of days with kids. But thankfully it's been a LONG time!
ReplyDeleteBrenda
That's too bad your daughter won't let you post her photo. I'm sure she was beautiful! Oh the stress they put us through! Glad you all survived the night! Seriously, that's scary stuff!
ReplyDeleteBeen there, done that, without google or a nav system AND in a foreign country.. Now my daughter is raising daughters..It's the circle of life.
ReplyDeleteSee you Monday with my mosaic. I'm ready.
Oh Mary: I had two boys but when they did not come home when they said they would I would be pacing the floor and giving my self heart failure. It is so hard to sit back and wait until you see them come through the door again. Have a great weekend. Valerie
ReplyDeleteHi Mary, Do you not find that the bigger the kids get the bigger their problems are, once a mother always a mother; we worry. I am glad everything was fine. I hope the rest of the weekend is relaxing. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI have a healthy head of hair, even at my age, and I have earned every single silver, white hair that is in there. Kids, 6 kids and It is still getting grayer and grayer. Blessings
ReplyDeleteQMM
OMG, I'd be screaming...frantic! How did this ever happen, given a wrong address?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad all is well!
Oh Mary! My heart goes out to you! Someday this will be a funny story for you to tell. But when its happening , its not so funny. My youngest is now 31 yrs. old and I have some stories too!!! Love you Mary, Pam
ReplyDeleteOh my, I can relate to your worry! It is so hard to let our kids be adults when they reach that age without worrying about them. Thank goodness she was all right!
ReplyDeleteQuite a challenge...Whew!!! Maybe a Garmin would be a good investment for graduation. God bless you for you patience!!! Cathy
ReplyDeleteOh dear! I can relate, though. Once my daughter called me from New York City at nightfall (I'm in California) because she was lost and couldn't find her way back onto Long Island. It was her first trip into the city shortly after she arrived in NY. I went to Google while she was fighting rush hour traffic with her phone to her ear, and although it took practically an hour to get her onto the road home, we finally did it. That experience gave me a few new gray hairs too! ::Jill
ReplyDeleteOh, my! I know how stressful this can be. I found myself (and I'm 62) out of town and lost in a large city 9 PM in a rain storm. My GPS decided it didn't like my password. I phoned a friend who lived in the city, she pulled out maps, and talked me through to my destination. I don't know what I would have done. I suddenly found myself in a terrible part of town. I'm so glad your daughter arrived safely. It must have been extremely stressful for all of you. Thank heavens for cell phones and google maps.
ReplyDeleteI've been on calls like that with my daughters. It's nerve wracking!
ReplyDeleteI didn't ask my daughter about posting the prom pictures. She's usually too busy to read my blog so I just did it. However, she didn't ask me NOT to post.....
Dear Mary...I have just had a chance to catch up on your posts and see that I have missed congratulating you and your son on his graduation...as well as congratulations to you on how well you handled your daughter's adventures...I will warn you that even when your children are married, settled, have their own children...you will still be worrying about them. As for what comes next...there are so many different paths to take these days that I have never been able to pick one!...just meandering along and enjoying it:)
ReplyDeletexo
Thank you so much, everyone!!!
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