Saturday, January 23, 2010

My Backseat Advisor

On the drive home from the girls' schools, I have to turn left off of Roswell Road onto Robinson Road, at a traffic light. Frequently, I have to wait in the turn lane for a few moments - either for the light to change or for traffic to clear.

The other day while I was waiting in the turn lane, Catherine told me "the light is green Mommy, you can go now." I was shocked, because I have never taught her about traffic rules and did not even know she could see the light from her car seat behind me. I had to explain to her that although the light was green, I was in a turn lane and had to wait until all of the oncoming traffic passed before I could go. It was an exception to the "green means go" rule.

The light turned yellow, then red. But, as I had planned, I was in the middle of the intersection. So, I began to make my left turn.

Catherine said "Wait, Mommy. You can't go now. The light is red. You have to stop." Who taught her these rules? Do I really want all this commentary from the backseat?

Whether I wanted to or not, I now had to explain to Catherine an exception to the "red means stop" rule. I was already in the intersection and would block traffic if I did not go.

This is a cute story that reminds me of how observant Catherine is. But, it is so humbling that my four year old child has become my driving conscience (don't we all need one?).

But, it is also humbling to me because I wonder where Catherine has learned these traffic rules. We have never taught them to her. I assume she has learned these from school. Of course, I wonder what else she has learned from school and what else will she learn in the future, not taught by us. Somewhat scary, but exciting.

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