Shortly after I attained the golden apple of teenage years, my driver’s license, I got into my first accident. This was before cell phones, texting, and GPS. My best friend and I were arguing over which radio station to listen to. In those few  distracting seconds, I looked down to dial the music back to my favorite station and then BOOM! I rear-ended someone. And the windshield actually spider-webbed although it didn’t shatter.

The worst part was explaining to the Police Officer why I didn’t slow down when the car in front of me was clearly stopped. Actually worse still was facing my dad. He was relatively cool since there was an audience, but the moment everyone left, I listened to the mother of all lectures. And I still remember him throwing in, “And your mom says you’re so distant these days. She feels like you’re not talking to her much. And that hurts…both of us.”

And then the kicker: “Get in the driver’s seat. You’re driving home.” Continue reading →