mother to mother and a full moon

Our house in Colorado had a great open view to the east. The foothills of the mountains lined the horizon and was one of our favorite views. We especially loved watching the moon as it would rise up over the mountains. It was just one of the things that I knew I would greatly miss. I was so happy to see that, although through a much different landscape, we still have a view of the full moon. The same moon, just a different view.

Recently, Rachel and I went "down to the city". We live north of Scottsdale, a little away from the hustle and bustle, and all the traffic that is there. We are a little higher in elevation (average temps are a little cooler) so we are "driving in or down to the city". Follow me so far?

The traffic here is very different from where we came from.

Small towns = not so much traffic. Big cities=nervous Mom with teen driver.

Rachel has had her license for just nearly a year. This has been a good experience for her to learn new skills. Interstate driving, lots of traffic, flooded streets and being on alert for aggressive drivers to name a few.(We have been amazed at they way people cut into your lane so closely to your bumper and how often people run red lights. Yep, we lived in a small town for a long time). We have had many discussions on defensive driving and how she needs to be watchful of people that are in a hurry.

So, she and I had gone to do some shopping. She was driving. We were in the right hand lane coming up to the entrance to a shopping center. She had her blinker on and was going the right speed to make a right hand turn. Just as she was making the turn, a car that had been sitting in the middle of the road to make a left turn, across traffic into the same shopping center, shot across the oncoming traffic to follow Rachel into the entrance. She was coming so fast that she nearly hit the side of the car... the driver's side. The other driver laid on her horn and was waving her arms and mouthing words of obscenities. It really scared Rachel. Fortunately she kept her cool and continued her turn and kept on driving to the parking lot. As it turned out, the other driver was parking in the same lot as us. Just a few spaces down. She was, by this time, oblivious that we were parking near her. As I watched her open the door of her mini van and unbuckle her daughter from the car seat, some kind of emotion over took me. So, I got out of the car and told Rachel I would be right back. I caught up with her in front of Target. As I approached this young mom with her young daughter I said, "when you are making a right hand turn and someone is making a left hand turn across traffic, who has the right of way?". She spun around with a look of shock and screeched, "you don't understand! I had been sitting there for like 20 minutes and you were going so slow!" Calmly, I said, "my daughter was the one driving and she was going the correct speed for that turn and you nearly hit her!" A little exchange went back and forth with her constantly telling me she was tired of waiting...etc, etc. So, again I said, "my daughter is 17 years old and you really scared her. You could have caused an accident. When your daughter is this age and driving, you will know how, as a mother, I feel right now. You were in the wrong and you really scared her." To that, she paused, looked down at her daughter, her shoulders dropped, and she had a completely different sound to her voice. She said, "you are right, I'm very sorry. I was just tired of waiting." I told her I didn't think being in a hurry was worth causing an accident and putting my daughter or her daughter at risk. Again she said, "you are right." To that I nodded and walked away.

With that, I hope she will remember... one mom's plea to another. It could be someone else's daughter, son, sister, brother, mom, dad, grandpa or grandma behind the wheel of the other car.

Is it worth it because you are tired of waiting?

I'm just a mom with a view.