I use to wonder why old people don’t drive faster.  They have very little time left; why not drive their age… If you’re 89, why aren’t you driving 89 miles an hour?!

I had approximately 6 speeding tickets a year before my oldest was born. 

Three kids later, I’m the old lady screaming, “SLOW DOWN, PAL! The speed limit is 45!”

Perhaps it is a natural side effect of having children that fearless becomes defensive, and impulsive becomes deliberate.  I use to eat sushi from the glove compartment on a long road trip.  I now question bread AT the grocery store.   I once hitch hiked my way home.  Today, I have anxiety over taxi rides.  Who vetted this person?

At 17, I joined the Army, thought $18 in my bank account was fine, jumped off the barn roof (repeatedly) for fun, and pierced a body part on an impromptu day trip to the beach.

 I was fearless.

At 24, I had a daughter.  She was immediately the most important thing I could have imagined in my life.  I went from testing how far below the E on the gas tank I could go, to filling up at a quarter tank.  That piercing is gone, and I have a dependable husband who has taught me how to have more than a little in the bank account for rainy days.  His life tips have included: order individual items off the $1 menu to make a $3 meal or drink free water for a $2 meal, drive a paid for car as long as possible, question every purchase and wait a few days before committing, and never shop without a list.  Don’t we sound wild?  What’s wild is having the privilege to raise three beautiful girls.  We are the examples they learn from. 

With any luck, they’ll test a few limits, and eventually yell at the neighbor kid to slow down and get off their lawn.